Stefan and Caroline - Double Life
by LauraJean1992
Summary: Caroline and Stefan meet, and there's an instant connection - but what happens when she finds out he's leading another life?
1. Chapter 1

CAROLINE'S POV:

"All done," Rebekah proclaimed "you look totally hot. A blonde bombshell."

"I can't believe I let you make me over…" I admitted as she passed me the mirror

"Hey!" she replied "I think I've done a pretty good job, thank you very much."

I smiled at her warmly and then turned my head to look in the mirror, my smile widening as I took in my appearance… "Bek!"

"You like it?" she questioned

"I love it!" I informed her

She smiled at me warmly and moved behind me, pulling the hair tie from my hair, ruffling it with her hands as she did so… "Your hair's so much better down."

"You think?" I asked

She nodded her head… "Right, we need to get going."

I nodded my head in agreement and set the mirror down, stepping down from the stool and grabbing my handbag, letting her take my hand in mine before leading me out of my house…

"What do you say to this weekend, redecorating your place?" she asked as we climbed into a cab

"Redecorating?" I inquired

"Yeah, y'know, get rid of all the bad Tyler air in there." she replied

"The bad Tyler what now?" I questioned

"The bad Tyler air." she informed me "We clear out everything he had to do with and buy all new, pretty things."

"You're serious?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her "As much as I love the idea, my place is totally fine, thank you."

"He was the scumbag who cheated on you…" she proclaimed "C'mon, Caroline, fresh start. What do you say?"

"I am not redecorating." I informed her "End of story!"

"Okay, if you're not willing to redecorate, then will you at least consider having a "screw you, Tyler, and burn all his stuff" party?" she inquired

"Now that's an idea I can get on board with." I replied, smiling at her warmly

STEFAN'S POV:

I'd been sat at the Mystic Grill bar for half-an-hour when two girls walked in laughing and joking, making their way to the end of the bar…

"There you go." Alaric proclaimed, setting another Bourbon down in front of me

"Thanks." I replied, downing the amber liquid in one

"Whoa, don't you think we should slow down?" he suggested

"What's the point in slowing down?" I asked "I'm a free and single man with no work in the morning. I'll get drunk if I want to."

"If that's the way you wanna be, then I'll see you in the morning for a coffee when you're suffering with a hangover." he informed me, patting my shoulder before disappearing

By the time two of the girls made their way back to the bar to order another round of cocktails, it had cleared slightly, and I watched the blonde as she turned to face the crowds on the dancefloor and swayed her hips to the music as her head looked around the room, her face finally turning to me as I shot a smile in her direction. Reciprocating, she was then pulled away by her friend…

CAROLINE'S POV:

An hour later and Rebekah and Bonnie (who'd joined us after work), were very drunk, and happily chatting away to two random's who had bought them a drink each. Deciding to escape, I headed back over to the bar and ordered a drink, watching as my friends who were supposedly here to help me take my mind off the past week got up close and personal with the two strangers as they let themselves be led out of the bar…

"You look how I feel…" an unfamiliar male voice spoke to my left

Turning, my breath hitched in my throat and I was sure my heart skipped a beat as I came face-to-face with the guy in front of me, the one who'd smiled at me at the bar as Rebekah and I had got the last round of drinks. He was gorgeous, sexy and so damn attractive…

"You mean bored out of your mind, right?" I asked "If so, you're right."

I swallowed a lump in my throat as his eyes sparkled as he smiled warmly at me and I couldn't help but stare. Suddenly, I felt the air change around us and I felt completely sober, even though I wasn't. Leaning closer, he placed his hand on my arm and I gasped…

"So, what's a girl like you doing standing at a crowded bar all on her own?" he questioned

"Excuse me?" I inquired "A girl like me? What the hell is that meant to mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it," he proclaimed "sorry. I mean, you're here, and your friends are on the dancefloor. Shouldn't you be with them?"

"They left a few minutes ago." I informed him

"And you chose to stay here?" he questioned

"They didn't really give me much of a chance, as they've pulled." I admitted

"Well in that case, would you like to join me for a drink?" he inquired

"Yes please." I replied "That'd be nice."

STEFAN'S POV:

"Great," I proclaimed "what would you like?"

"Anything," she replied "I'm pretty much on my way to being drunk anyway, so what's the harm in mixing my drinks now?"

"You might regret that tomorrow morning…" I admitted

"Life's too short for regrets, don't you think?" she questioned

As I was about to reply, the barman made his way over to me and I ordered us two bottles of beer. Being handed my change, I motioned over to a booth in the corner that had become available and guided her over to it…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"So I've let you buy me a drink, and I've let you lead me to a quiet corner, do I get to know your name now?" I asked as we both took a seat

"I suppose you've earned it," he replied "Stefan. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," I greeted him; shaking his outstretched hand "I'm Caroline."

"Lovely name." he admitted, smiling at me warmly "Did you know it means song of happiness?"

"You learn something new every day." I replied, turning to take a sip of my drink "Shit!"

"What's wrong?" he asked

"My ex is on his way over." I informed him "Act like we're deep in conversation or something…"

"We were, weren't we?" he questioned

STEFAN'S POV:

"Caroline," the guy proclaimed "is that you?"

"Tyler," she sighed "what were you saying, Stefan?"

"You look so good, Care. Really hot!" Tyler informed her

"She does, doesn't she?" I inquired, my arm slipping around her shoulder, pulling her closer to me "It's because she's happy. She's actually having fun with someone who treats her with respect. Am I right, Caroline?"

I glanced at her as she nodded her head, a small smile gracing her lips as she turned to Tyler…

"And you are?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him

"He's no one, Stefan." Caroline replied "No one at all. So if you don't mind, Tyler, we were kind of having a private moment which we need to be alone for. I think we should dance; now our moment's been ruined…"

I nodded my head in agreement and took Caroline's hand as I stood and led her onto the dancefloor, Tyler standing aside as we moved from our booth... "What was that back there?"

"How about we don't talk about our pasts tonight?" she suggested "I know you're here for a reason too but I really don't care. We both know what we want, right?"

"And that is?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her as I let my arms slide around her waist, pulling her tight against me

"Sex…" she replied, her hands sliding down my back as she spoke "I think we need to get out of here, don't we?"

I could only nod as her hands slid to my bum, her hips pushing against mine as she did so. Cupping her cheek in my hand, I pulled her face to mine and captured my lips in hers passionately, pulling away from her a minute later, both of us breathless. Entwining her hand with mine, I led her through the crowds and out of the bar…

CAROLINE'S POV:

We arrived at Stefan's apartment what felt like an eternity later when in fact it had only been a matter of minutes in a cab, the ride being filled with sexual tension as we tried to keep our hands off of each other as the driver weaved through the streets of Mystic Falls. Taking his hand in mine as he climbed out of the cab, he handed the driver his fare and led me to the building door, unlocking it and hurrying to the elevator, his lips capturing mine as the doors shut behind us…

"God…" I moaned as the elevator dinged, signalling we'd arrived on his floor

"No, just Stefan." he replied as he pulled away from me

Smirking as he pulled us from the elevator, I wound my arms around his waist from behind as we arrived at his door, allowing my lips to press against the skin of his neck, hearing him breath deeply as I did so, smiling against his skin as I realised the effect I was having on him. Opening the door, he dragged me inside and pushed me against the door as he shut it behind us, his body pressed against mine, no space between us, his hands cupping my cheeks once again as his lips sought mine…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Well, when I went out tonight, this wasn't what I expected to be doing…" Caroline admitted as we laid together afterwards, her back against my front

"I'm glad you came to the bar." I informed her

"You are now, are you?" she questioned as she turned onto her stomach to face me "Why would that be?"

"Because what we've just done was pretty amazing." I replied

"Pretty amazing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me

"Okay, mind-blowing. Is that better?" I inquired

She nodded her head and pressed her lips against mine, pushing her body closer to mine as she did so…

"Is someone ready for round two?" I asked

"I was just about to ask you the same question." she informed me, her hand sliding down my chest as she moved to straddle me, taking a hold of my length in her hand as she did so, guiding me into her "But that's my question answered…"

Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her down to me, our chests colliding, my lips swallowing her moans as we began to move in sync…


	2. Chapter 2

" _Thanks for a great night last night. If you want to, call me (I've left my number in your phone) Caroline x"_

Caroline Forbes had never expected anything to come of that, but here she was, laid in bed with the guy that she'd left the note for two weeks later, and they'd seen each other every day since. What was only meant to be a one night stand was quickly turning into something amazing, and she didn't have any regrets whatsoever…

"Do you have any regrets?" she asked as she laid with her rested against Stefan's chest, his fingers playing with her hair, slowly lulling her to sleep

"What do you mean?" he questioned "Why would I have regrets?"

"About this?" she inquired "About what we're doing? Doesn't it feel a bit dirty to you?"

"Are you trying to subtly end this?" he asked

"No," she proclaimed "but I'm just wondering if maybe we should take a different approach…"

"Such as?" he inquired

Caroline turned onto her stomach and rested her chin in her hands, smiling at Stefan as he watched her… "Maybe we cool it with the sex, not that it's not amazing because it is, but we go out on dates? Beta-test being a couple and see how it goes? What do you think to that?"

"I like it," he replied, moving his hand to her arm, letting his fingertips run up her bare skin "but do we really have to cool it with the sex?"

Caroline swallowed, feeling the goosebumps arise on her skin… "We'll see."

Smiling at her warmly, Stefan let his hand drift from her arm and down to her waist, letting the width of his hand spread flat across her back before pulling her to him quickly, his lips pressing against hers, a moan escaping her mouth as he moved her body back to the bedsheets…


	3. Chapter 3

CAROLINE'S POV:

The doorbell rang dead on 7pm, and as I made my way over to it, checking my appearance in the mirror as I did so, the butterflies that had since settled in my stomach started to flutter again, and I smiled warmly as I opened my door to find Stefan stood on my porch, a bouquet of flowers in hand…

"Hi." he greeted me

"Hi." I mirrored as he held out the flowers for me to take "They're beautiful, Stefan. Thank you."

"Beautiful to match you, then," he replied as I motioned him inside as I set the flowers into a vase full of water "you look amazing, Caroline."

"Thank you. Shall we get going?" I questioned

He nodded his head and held out his arm for me to take which I did willingly, letting him lead me from the house and out of the door…

STEFAN'S POV:

"What are you looking at?" Caroline asked as we waited for our meals

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" I inquired

"You have, but it doesn't hurt to say it more than once." she replied "And I'm glad you're noticing, because I've gone all out for this date…"

"Have you now?" I asked "How so?"

"I'm wearing a new dress," she informed me "and new lingerie too."

I smiled at her warmly and let my hand slide from where it had been resting against my glass across to her knee, thankful she was sitting next to me, a quiet gasp escaping her lips as my fingers began to stroke patterns on her skin…

CAROLINE'S POV:

I moaned in delight as I let the first mouthful of my chocolate cake for dessert slide past my lips, seeing Stefan watching me. Smiling at him, I moved my fork to my plate and picked up another mouthful, sliding my foot out of my heel, allowing it to run up his trouser clad leg…

"Shall we ask for these to go?" he asked

"Why?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him

"No reason," he replied "do you want to go? I was thinking we could take a romantic, moonlit stroll…"

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline and I arrived back at her house and I walked her to her door, watching her as she turned to me and rooted through her bag for her keys, retrieving them a minute later…

"I had fun tonight." I admitted

"So did I." she replied "Thank you for an amazing night."

I smiled at her warmly and pressed my lips against hers…

"When am I going to see you again?" she inquired

"Sooner than you think if you play your cards right," I informed her "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Or you could stay?" she suggested

"What about our beta-test, Caroline?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her

"You staying the night doesn't necessarily mean we're going to have sex, Stefan." she replied "Wouldn't it be nice to fall asleep in each other's arms, and wake up together?"

"Yeah, it would." I replied

"Then it's your choice." she informed me as she turned and unlocked her door, leaving it open as she made her way inside

I watched her for a minute longer as she set her things down on the table and proceeded to remove her jacket, a lump forming in my throat as I came face-to-face with her pale skin. Stepping inside, I shut and locked the door behind me and moved over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind, my head turning as I rested my chin on her shoulder, my lips pressing against the skin of her neck as my hand found it's way underneath her dress, moans beginning to slip from her lips as I rubbed my hand flat against her panties…

"Stefan…" she moaned breathlessly, her hips pushing back against mine

With my free hand, I wiped everything from the table and pulled my hand from underneath her dress and turned her to face me, my lips capturing hers as I lifted her onto the table…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"How long have you been awake?" I asked Stefan as I came to, seeing him laid in bed next to me, one hand laying on his bare torso, the other thrown above his head

"Only a few minutes," he replied "I was just about to wake you, actually; see if you wanted to join me in the shower…"

"I'd love to, but if that happens I'm gonna be late for work, so it's a no go." I informed him "But I wouldn't say no to a possible ambush…"

Smirking at me, I pressed my lips against his and moved from the bed, making my way through to my en-suite…

STEFAN'S POV:

I sat up in Caroline's bed and was just about to move to join her when my phone began to ring. Retrieving it from my trouser pocket, I saw it was my lawyer calling…

"Martin," I greeted him "now? Why now? Okay, I'll be there in half-an-hour. Yeah, bye."

Sighing heavily, I glanced at Caroline's en-suite door and back to my clothes that had been discarded on the floor. Climbing from the bed, I pulled them on and made my way out of the bedroom and down the stairs to my car…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Stefan?" I questioned as I walked into my now empty bedroom

I continued to towel dry my hair as I made my way down the stairs, calling Stefan's name again. Moving into the living room, I opened the curtains and found his car had gone from my driveway. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I made my way back upstairs to get ready for work…

 **Why is Stefan's lawyer calling him and why has he ditched Caroline without so much as a goodbye note? How do you think Caroline will react when she hears his explanation? Hmm, find out next time…**


	4. Chapter 4

CAROLINE'S POV:

It was late morning now, and as I made my way into the teachers lounge, I flicked on the kettle and set a mug down on the worktop, a hand being placed on my shoulder as the kettle boiled…

"What's the matter?" Rebekah's voice asked from behind me

"What're you talking about?" I questioned

"You're not on the ball today," she replied "what's going on inside that pretty little head?"

"I'm being ridiculous." I admitted "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Caroline, you're my friend, so of course I'm gonna worry." she informed me "Why don't we sit outside today and have lunch and have a chat?"

STEFAN'S POV:

" _Hi, this is Caroline, sorry I can't take your call right now but if you leave a message I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you, bye."_

"Caroline, it's me, Stefan." I informed her as I got her voicemail yet again "I'm sorry I had to dash off without saying goodbye this morning, but there was a problem at the office that only I could sort. Will I see you tonight? Takeout and a movie, my treat, what do you say? Let me know. Bye."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Is it something to do with this new guy you're seeing?" Rebekah inquired as we made our way outside and took a seat at one of the benches

"How do you know about that?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her

"Bonnie told me." she informed me "Which raises the point; why did you tell her and not me?"

"She surprised me by bringing breakfast over when Stefan had stayed the night one night," I explained "it wasn't intentional. But yeah, it is something to do with him…"

"Do I need to kick some ass?" she asked "Because I will. My karate training could come in handy if you need it to."

"Nobody needs their ass kicking," I replied "I'm being silly."

"Why don't you tell me what's happened and I'll tell you if you're being silly?" she suggested

"He left without saying goodbye this morning." I informed her "I was in the shower, obviously thinking he was going to join me and when I came out, he was gone. No note, no text and no phone call since…"

As she was about to reply, my phone beeped, signalling I had a voicemail message. Sighing, I unlocked my keypad and saw that I had 3 missed calls from Stefan…

"Is that him?" she asked

I nodded my head… "3 missed calls and a voicemail."

"He obviously wants to talk to you, so ring him back." she replied

"What if I'm setting myself up for a fall?" I questioned

"Do you think that's what you're doing?" she inquired

"I don't know." I admitted "When we're together it's amazing. He's kind, he's caring, he's sweet and…"

"Amazing in bed?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me

"Rebekah!" I proclaimed "But we just click, y'know? And he's never left without saying goodbye before; so maybe this beta-test thing I'm suggesting has scared him off?"

"Beta-test?" she questioned

"It was a one-night stand to begin with," I replied "or so I thought. I left him my number so if he wanted to call me the next day he could and he did, and then when we were two weeks in, I started to feel something more for him so I suggested we eased ourselves into a proper relationship, but maybe he's got cold feet and I've scared him off…"

"You want my advice?" she inquired

"I think so…" I informed her

"Stop doubting yourself," she replied "he probably realised the time and had to dash off and did so without thinking. If you like him, then enjoy it. Don't over-think it…"

STEFAN'S POV:

"Daddy!" Leo proclaimed as I pulled into Elena's driveway

"Hi, buddy." I greeted him, lifting him into my arms as he reached me

"Stefan, what are you doing here?" Elena questioned as she made her way out of the house

"I brought back little man's scarf," I informed her "he left it with me the other day."

"Thanks." she replied "Are you coming inside?"

I saw Damon make his way out of the house and shook my head, setting Leo on the ground before ruffling his hair and standing up straight… "No, I've got plans."

"Leo, can you head inside to Damon please?" she inquired

"Daddy's here…" he sighed

"You go inside, bud, and I'll see you this weekend." I assured him

He looked up at me and smiled at me warmly before making his way inside…

"We're gonna have to get over this one day, you do realise that, right?" she asked

"I do, but just think how you'd feel if you'd found out I cheated on you with your sister." I replied "I'll be here to pick him up this weekend…"

CAROLINE'S POV:

Rebekah was driving me home after I'd told her that I'd walked to school, and was staring out the window when I sat forward quickly, seeing Stefan talking to another woman…

"Slow down!" I proclaimed

"What?" Rebekah inquired "Why?"

"Stefan's over there with another woman." I informed her

She slowed the car down and placed her hand on my shoulder; both of us watching as they exchanged words and then Stefan climbed in his car and drove off. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I put my head in my hands as I turned away from the window…

"Are you okay?" she questioned

I nodded my head… "Can you just take me home please?"

"Are you sure you don't want to head to the Grill and get wasted?" she inquired

"I'd love to, but on a school night, no way," I replied "just get me home please."

STEFAN'S POV:

I knocked on Caroline's front door, takeout in one hand and movie choices in the other. Hearing her move towards the door, she pulled it open and I smiled at her, holding up the stuff I had with me…

"What are you doing here?" she questioned

"You didn't reply to my calls, texts or voicemails, so I came to make sure you were okay." I replied "And share with you my idea of having a movie night, just the two of us…"

"What about the brunette?" she inquired

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her "What are you talking about?"

"The brunette I saw you with today," she informed me "5'7, really pretty. Who is she?"

"Were you spying on me?" I questioned

"I was on my way home from work," she replied "but it's nice to know you think so highly of yourself to think I'd stalk you. Who is she, Stefan?"

"She's no one." I informed her

"If you're not gonna tell me, you can just go." she sighed "I'm not in the mood for any of this tonight."

"She's my ex." I admitted, running my hands over my face as I spoke "My ex-wife who I have a son with. She's now engaged to my brother."

CAROLINE'S POV:

" _She's my ex. My ex-wife who I have a son with. She's now engaged to my brother."_

"I don't believe this…" I proclaimed "Not only do you have a wife, but you have a son too?"

"Ex-wife, Caroline." he informed me "Who I'm in the process of divorcing."

"And a son?" I questioned "Why did you not tell me any of this?"

"When was there a time to?" he asked "Right after we'd had sex? Oh hey, Caroline, thanks for the amazing sex, and by the way, I have an ex-wife and son. Shall we go again?"

"Don't make this into a joke, Stefan because it's not." I sighed "How could you not tell me?"

"I wanted to," he informed me "believe me I did. When you suggested the beta-test for our relationship I wanted to, and I was going to, but you were so happy, I didn't want to burst that bubble."

"Why didn't you tell me that night at the bar?" I questioned

"I didn't want to ruin my chances of taking you home." I admitted

"So basically you wanted to get your rocks off?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at him

"Yes. And you did too." he replied "That's all either of us were interested in that night, and you pretty much said so yourself. I know I should've told you, Caroline, but I don't want this to affect us."

"You need to go…" I admitted

"What?" he asked

"You heard me," I replied "you need to go. I need time to think."

"About what?" he questioned

"About us." I informed him

"Caroline, please…" he begged

"Please, Stefan." I sighed "Don't do this. Just go."

"Okay," he replied "but tomorrow night at 6pm, if you still think there could be an us, I want you to meet me at the Grill."

"I'll let you know if I'm not coming." I informed him

"Can I ask you one more thing before I go?" he questioned

I swallowed a lump in my throat and nodded my head… "What is it?"

"Does it bother you, that I have a son?" he inquired

"Seriously?" I asked "Do you really think I'm that shallow?"

"No," he replied "but I just needed to know. I'll hopefully see you tomorrow. Night, Caroline."

"Night, Stefan." I mirrored, watching him as he left, the door shutting behind him as he did so

 **Stefan and Elena WERE married, and have a son together, but she cheated on him with Damon and they are now engaged, and she and Stefan are in the process of a divorce, and now Caroline knows everything. Do you think she can move past it or not?**


	5. Chapter 5

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Girls night!" Bonnie proclaimed as she and Rebekah made their way into my house that Thursday night

"On a Thursday?" I asked "Anyway, I'm not in the mood…"

"Rebekah's going to see her Mom and Dad tomorrow, so we're doing it tonight instead." Bonnie informed me "And what do you mean you're not in the mood?"

"I mean I'm not in the mood." I admitted "Y'know about Stefan, so…"

"So you're not gonna come out and have drinks and stay in and mope over Stefan?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at me

"Yep." I replied "That's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"And what will that achieve?" Rebekah inquired "Oh yeah, that's right. Nothing! We're having girl's night."

"Can we have a girls night in?" I questioned "Because I really don't wanna go out…"

"Chinese, junk food and sloppy chick flicks?" Bonnie asked "I'm in. What about you, Bek?"

"I miss him…" I sighed as the credits rolled on Pretty Woman

"Who?" Rebekah inquired

"Who'd you think?" I asked "Stefan."

"Why don't you call him and tell him that then?" she suggested

"Because I'm still hurt that he lied to me." I informed her "And I said no to meeting him at the Grill the other night, so what's he gonna think?"

"He didn't exactly lie now, did he?" Bonnie questioned "He just didn't tell you something because he didn't want to hurt you. It's quite sweet actually, when you think about it. And r.e. meeting him at the Grill, you can tell him you needed time to get your head around things if he asks, but he seems caring, he'll understand."

"I agree with Bonnie." Rebekah admitted "And I think you should call him and arrange to meet. It's not too late to go out somewhere."

STEFAN'S POV:

I downed the remnants on my glass of Bourbon when my phone began to ring. Picking it up, I turned the screen to me and saw it was Caroline calling…

"Caroline," I proclaimed as I answered "please tell me this isn't a dream?"

"Hi," she replied "no, it's not a dream. Why would you think it was?"

"Because I didn't think I was going to hear from you." I admitted "After…"

"Yeah," she sighed "listen, can we meet? We need to talk about some stuff."

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Sure. When?"

"Half-an-hour at Mystic Grill?" she suggested "Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, that's perfect. I'll see you there." I informed her

"Okay." she replied "Bye."

"Bye." I mirrored, both of us hanging up the phone

CAROLINE'S POV:

"If you need us, we'll be right over there." Bonnie informed me as I made my way to a table

"You're not gonna leave me here on my own and go off with random's this time, right?" I asked

"Right." she replied "He's here. Good luck!"

Hugging both of them quickly, I sat down at the table and Stefan made his way over, smiling at me warmly as he reached me…

"Hi," I greeted him "I got you a beer."

"Thanks." he replied, exhaling a breath as he sat down "How've you been?"

"Honestly?" I questioned "Miserable…"

"Me too." he admitted "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Caroline."

"I've been made to realise that I was being too hard on you." I informed him "Rebekah made a good point that when I was with Tyler, he treated me like dirt and I was rarely happy, but with you, it's the happiest she and Bonnie have seen me, and I'd be an idiot to throw it away, so I'm not going to."

"You're not?" he asked

I shook my head… "I want to be happy and I know with you I can be. I want to meet Leo, and I want us to be a proper couple. No more beta-test. We're in this for keeps, what do you say?"

"Okay." he replied, smiling at me warmly "Can I kiss you now?"

I nodded my head and reciprocated his smile… "I'd be offended if you didn't."

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline and I arrived back at her house and she unlocked her front door and stepped inside, turning to face me… "I don't know whether to invite you in or not."

"Do you want to invite me in?" I questioned

She nodded her head… "But I don't want to, y'know..."

"Then how about we just sleep together?" I suggested "Because all I've wanted since I last saw you is to hold you in my arms and fall asleep with you and wake up with you by my side."

"That's all I've wanted too." she admitted "Okay. Would you like to come in, Stefan?"

I smiled at her warmly and nodded, watching as she stepped backwards and I stepped in, shutting the door behind me. Continuing to watch her as she removed her coat and shoes, she held out her hand to me and I took it, letting her lead me up the stairs…

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and I arrived in my bedroom and I shut the door behind us, moving over to him. Raising my hands to his shoulders, I pushed his jacket off and slid my hands down his chest, beginning to unbutton the shirt he was wearing…

"Caroline…" he sighed

"What?" I asked

"What about what we said downstairs?" he questioned

"I remember." I informed him "But I've always found a couple undressing one another quite intimate. I know it probably sounds weird but whatever, so can I continue?"

He nodded his head and I smiled at him warmly, continuing to unbutton his shirt, pushing that from his shoulders too. Once he was fully undressed and stood in front of me in just his boxers, I swallowed and turned to face him, pulling my hair to one side, gasping softly as his fingers ran up my arms to the nape of my neck where the zip of my dress sat, his hand holding onto my hip as he pulled it down. Shrugging the material off my body, I let it pool at my feet and bent down, laying it on the back of the chair and then bent down again, pulling Stefan's shirt on over my bra and panty clad frame…

"Is this okay?" I asked as I began to button it up

He nodded his head… "You're not making this easy."

I smiled at him warmly and leant up on my tiptoes to press my lips against his and pulled away a minute later, moving to the bed and climbing in my side, watching Stefan as he moved around to the other side and climbed in beside me, his arm splaying out over my pillow. Smiling, I moved into him and tangled my leg with his, letting my fingers draw patterns on his chest as his fingers stroked through my hair, slowly lulling me to sleep…

 **Stefan and Caroline have made things official, and she's going to meet Leo. How do you think that'll go?**


	6. Chapter 6

STEFAN'S POV:

I woke up the following morning, Caroline in my arms, her arms wrapped around my waist and her body curled into mine and her legs tangled with mine under the covers. Glancing down at her, I couldn't believe how lucky I was that she'd given me another chance. Pressing my lips against her forehead, I smiled as she sighed, her body moving, her head burying in the crook of my neck, her lips pressing against the skin of my neck a minute later…

"Morning." I greeted her

"Morning." she mirrored "This is nice."

"Yeah, it is." I replied, tightening my arms around her "We should stay like this all day."

"I wish we could, but I have a job to be getting to." she admitted

"Seriously?" I questioned "Can I not convince you to stay?"

"You could try." she replied

"Challenge accepted." I informed her

CAROLINE'S POV:

Quickly I'd been moved away from Stefan, his body covering mine, his hands entwined with mine, resting on either side of my head on my pillow as he pressed his lips against mine once before beginning the journey down my body, my hips writhing underneath him as he let go of one of my hands and began to unbutton the shirt of his that I was wearing, his lips pressing kisses to the skin of my stomach as it became accessible…

"I can make it worth your while." he informed me, his nose nuzzling against my stomach "I promise."

Sighing contentedly, I felt his hands lift my thighs and move to my underwear, beginning to pull them down my legs and that was it; reaching for my phone, I dialled the school's number…

"Good morning, Morningside Elementary School, how can I help?" Rebekah's voice asked as she answered the phone

"Hi, Rebekah, it's me, Caroline." I informed her

"Hi," she greeted me "everything okay?"

"Not really," I replied "I seem to have come down with the flu overnight, and I feel awful."

"Really?" she questioned "That's crazy!"

"I know," I admitted "so I won't be in today."

I gasped as Stefan's lips pressed against my mound and covered my mouth, biting at my bottom lip as he began to let his tongue move up and down…

"Caroline, are you still there?" Rebekah inquired "When do you think you'll be back in?"

"Tomorrow, maybe." I replied, moaning as I did so "Yep, or maybe Monday. I don't know. Can I let you know?"

STEFAN'S POV:

I smirked against the inside of Caroline's thigh as I bit it softly, a yelp escaping her lips as she spoke on the phone. Feeling her hand slap at the bare skin of my back, I moved back to her mound, her legs tightening on either side of my head as I pushed my tongue into her body…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Okay, well I hope you're feeling better soon." Rebekah admitted "And I'll see you next week."

"Yep, see you next week." I informed her "Have fun at your Mom and Dad's and give them my love. Bye."

I hung up the phone quickly and let it drop as I fisted the bedsheets by my side, feeling the familiar tightening coil in my stomach, the heels of my feet pushing into Stefan's back as he worked me towards the edge…

STEFAN'S POV:

"I want you to meet Leo." I informed Caroline as she stepped out of the shower later that morning, wrapping a towel around her body as I wrapped one around my waist

"What?" she questioned

"My son," I replied "I want you to meet him."

"So soon?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me

"Why not?" I inquired "This is going well, and I want him to meet the woman who's made me so happy, but if you're not 100% sure, then we can do it another time…"

"No, I want to," she replied "I just, what if he doesn't like me?"

"Why wouldn't he like you?" I asked

"Because I'm not his Mom." she informed me "I'm just Caroline…"

"And that's all you need to be for now." I replied "I could introduce you as my friend at first, and then when you two have got to know each other a little better, we tell him the truth."

"And what is the truth, Stefan?" she questioned

"That we're together and he's going to be seeing a lot more of you." I informed her

She smiled at me warmly… "You want me to meet him?"

I nodded my head… "You mean a lot to me, Caroline, and I've spent too long being unhappy and moping, so it's time to show Elena and my brother that I've moved on and that I'm happy."

"Okay." she replied, smiling at me warmly as she moved over to me, winding her arms around my waist "But can I ask one thing?"

"Anything." I informed her

"You introduce me as your girlfriend." she admitted "To Leo, to Damon and to Elena. You shouldn't have to hide the fact that you're happy, and I'm willing to let you show me off as much as you want to."

"Have I told you that you're amazing?" I questioned

"You did a few minutes ago back there," she replied, motioning to the shower "but that was for a whole other reason, so I'd appreciate being told again."

Smiling at her warmly, I cupped her cheeks in my hands and pressed my lips against hers… "You're amazing. You're amazing. You're amazing."

 **Stefan and Caroline are well and truly happy, and Stefan has asked Caroline to meet Leo. How do you think that'll go down? And how do you think her meeting Damon and Elena will go too?**


	7. Chapter 7

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Why don't we stay at mine tonight?" Stefan suggested, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind as I washed up the morning's pots, his lips pressing against my neck as he spoke "We can order takeout and watch movies and be big kids and sleep downstairs on my pull out sofa bed."

"You want me to stay at yours?" I asked as I turned to face him

"Why do you sound so surprised?" he questioned

"It's just we've always stayed here. I've not stayed there since the night we met." I replied "I've gotten quite used to having you in my bed."

"And against the landing wall, and in the shower and on the kitchen worktop?" he inquired

"I don't remember the last one being on the list." I admitted

"Better add it then, hadn't we?" he suggested, a squeal escaping my lips as he lifted me onto the worktop, his lips capturing mine as he moved to stand between my legs "So, is that a yes to staying at mine tonight?"

I nodded my head, biting my bottom lip to suppress a smile as he tilted his head to one side and raised an eyebrow at me. Capturing my lips in his again, I wound my legs around his waist, pushing myself against him…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Welcome to chateau Salvatore." I proclaimed as I opened my front door, letting Caroline step inside first

"Why thank you, Sir." Caroline replied as she stepped inside "God, this place is amazing."

"How about we jog your memory and see the bedroom?" I suggested

Smirking at me as I moved to stand beside her, she nodded her head and I led her through to the bedroom, setting her holdall that I'd been carrying for her on my bed…

"This place needs the Caroline Forbes touch." she informed me as she looked around the room

"What?" I inquired

"You need to make it more homely," she replied "you need cushions, you need pictures, you need family! I'm going to make it my mission to make this house a home."

"Are you now?" I asked

She nodded her head… "Starting with in here. I'm going to start Internet shopping."

"How about we leave the Internet shopping and actually go shopping another day?" I suggested "And instead, curl up on the sofa under a blanket with the fire on and watch a film with some Chinese takeout?"

"You're willing to let me loose in your home?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at me

"Should I be worried?" I asked

"No," she replied "I'll go easy on you, I promise. But only this once. When we buy our own place…"

"When we buy our own place, what?" I inquired

"Forget I spoke." she replied, moving over to the bed to begin unpacking her holdall "I tend to babble sometimes. That's something you'll learn about me very quickly."

"What if I don't want to forget you spoke?" I questioned "You've thought about that?"

She turned to me and pursed her lips together before nodding her head… "It's something every girl imagines at least once."

"So what'll happen when we buy our own place?" I asked

"Stefan…" she sighed

"What?" I inquired "I want to know what you've got in store for our future…"

"We'll be engaged," she informed me "and we'll sign the contracts just before our wedding, and then about a year down the line, I'll find out I'm pregnant with a little boy, and then 18 months later, I'll find myself pregnant again, this time with a little girl. And Leo will be so happy to have a younger brother or sister…"

I smiled at her warmly… "Where do you see us buying our own place?"

"Around here, so we're close to family." she replied "Or just outside of town. I want my kids to have the upbringing I had."

"What sort of upbringing did you have?" I questioned

"A good one." she replied "My Mom's a nurse, and my Dad's the Sheriff. What about your parents?"

"My Dad's an architect, and Mom runs her own events planning business." I informed her "She's always said she'd love to plan my wedding, but she's currently busy planning Damon and Elena's…"

"How do you manage to stay so calm when you talk about them as a couple?" she questioned "If it were me, I'd want to smash something every time their names passed my lips."

"Because I'm fed up of being angry." I admitted "They're happy, and yes, Elena cheated on me and left me for my brother and took my son with her, but at least I get to see him and have joint custody. Life could be worse."

She smiled at me warmly and wound her arms around my neck… "I can't wait to meet him."

"He can't wait to meet you either." I informed her

"He knows he's meeting me?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at me

I nodded my head… "I spoke to him on the phone when you were making lunch. He'd just got back from pre-school. He's so excited."

"Do you think he'll like me?" she asked

"I think he'll love you." I informed her "And I think we're gonna have such a good day tomorrow."

"I hope so." she admitted "But I can't help wondering if something will go wrong…"

"Why don't we worry about that if and when the time comes?" I suggested "And get snuggled up on that sofa?"

"Okay." she replied, smiling at me warmly "First one to the sofa pays for dinner!"

 **How long will Stefan and Caroline be able to stay in their little love bubble for? Will Elena burst it when she and Caroline meet for the first time tomorrow? Or will she not affect the Stefan/Caroline romance at all?**


	8. Chapter 8

STEFAN'S POV:

"Do I look okay?" Caroline asked for the millionth time as she checked her appearance in the mirror

"You look perfect. But then again you could wear a bin bag and still look perfect so…" I replied

"This is serious, Stefan," she sighed "not only am I meeting your son for the first time today, but I'm meeting your ex-wife and brother too."

"You're worried about what they'll think of you?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her

She nodded her head… "Yes and no. I know how Elena's going to be feeling about me coming with you and spending time with the son you have together. It'll be difficult for her."

"It's her own fault," I replied "she was the one who cheated, who left me for my brother. She has no right to feel sad or angry or whatever she might be feeling…"

She smiled at me warmly… "I just want things to be as easy as possible."

"And they will be." I assured her "As long as everyone remains mature and sensible."

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and I pulled into a driveway 40 minutes later, and I saw Elena make her way down the driveway to meet us…

"You ready?" he inquired, entwining his hand with mine

I nodded my head and unbuckled my seatbelt, Stefan following suit, both of us climbing out of the car…

"Stefan." Elena greeted him as he shut his car door behind him "And the new plaything. It's nice to meet you."

"You must be the cheating ex?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at her "It's nice to meet you too. Which makes him behind you the backstabbing bastard of a brother?"

"Daddy!" a voice proclaimed as Elena was about to reply

"Hi, bud." Stefan greeted him, picking him up into his arms

I smiled warmly at the two of them, Leo's arms wrapped tightly around Stefan's neck before he set him on the ground…

"Are you ready to go?" Stefan asked him

Leo nodded his head and Stefan stood up straight and turned to me… "Are you ready, babe?"

I nodded my head… "Ready."

"I'm not happy about this…" Elena admitted

"Well I suggest you learn to be, Elena, because Caroline's a part of my life and that means she's going to be a part of Leo's too. She's not going anywhere." Stefan informed her

"Have you even asked Leo if he wants to spend the day with her?" she questioned

"I know she's Daddy's girlfriend, Mommy." Leo admitted "Daddy told me."

"When?" she asked

"On the phone." he replied before turning to me "Are you Daddy's girlfriend?"

I smiled and bent down to his level and nodded my head… "Yeah, I am. My name's Caroline and if it's okay with you, I'm going to spend the day with you and your Daddy. We've got a lot of fun stuff planned."

"Like what?" he questioned

"Well your Daddy tells me you love animals, so I'm thinking we could go to the zoo?" I suggested

"Can we go, Daddy?" Leo inquired

Stefan nodded his head… "Why don't you and Caroline get in the car and you show her what a big boy you are by putting on your own seatbelt while I just speak to Mommy?"

STEFAN'S POV:

I watched as Caroline shut the car door behind Leo and climbed into the passenger seat. Turning to Elena I sighed…

"What?" she asked

"Would it have killed you to have been polite?" I questioned

"Excuse me? She gave just as good as she got, and more." she replied "And you're having a go at me?"

"You think you didn't deserve it?" I inquired "You're the one in the wrong here, not me. You need to accept that I'm moving on and that I'm happy, and Caroline will be great with Leo. She's an elementary school teacher and she's a good person. I'll be back with him tomorrow around 3pm, okay?"

Elena sighed and nodded her head… "Have fun."

"Thank you. I know we will." I replied as I made my way to my car

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Everything okay?" I asked Stefan as he climbed into the car

He nodded his head and I entwined my hand with his… "I'm sorry about what I said."

"It's fine," he replied "it was quite funny, actually. They were both gobsmacked."

"I don't even know where it came from," I admitted as he let go of my hand to pull his seatbelt around him "and then when I'd said it I thought you were going to be angry with me, and I was worried."

"It's okay." he assured me, entwining his hand with mine again momentarily, pressing a kiss to my knuckles "It was nice, having someone in my corner."

"I'm always gonna be in your corner." I informed him

Leaning forwards, he pressed his lips against mine and I smiled, cupping his cheek in my hand, Leo's protests of disgust making us pull apart…

"Can we go?" he questioned

"What are we going to see first?" I asked as Stefan nodded his head and started his car engine

"The giraffes!" Leo proclaimed

"And then?" I inquired

"The monkeys, the penguins and the fishes." he replied

"Well, it sounds like we've got an action-packed day planned." I admitted "Let's go!"

STEFAN'S POV:

I made my way through to the living room to tell Caroline and Leo that I'd ordered the pizza and stopped in my tracks, a warm smile appearing on my face as I took in the sight before me – cartoons were playing on the TV, but neither Caroline or Leo were watching as they'd both fallen asleep, Caroline's arm draped protectively around Leo as he was curled into her chest. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I took a picture and set it as my background, leaving the room…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Hey," I greeted Stefan as I walked through to the kitchen "I didn't realise how tired I was…"

"Well we have been quite busy today." he replied

"We have, and it might also have something to do with the fact that you and I have been up till quite late most nights this week." I informed him, smiling at him warmly

"Are you complaining?" he questioned

I shook my head and wound my arms around his waist… "Today was lovely, wasn't it?"

"It was." he replied "It was so nice to see you and Leo get on so well. He adores you."

"He's a lovely kid; and is being brought up really well." I informed him "Must be his Daddy's touch…"

He smiled at me warmly and pressed his lips against mine, the intercom to the flat buzzing pulling us apart…

"That'll be the pizzas." he admitted "I'll go down and get them. Can you wake Leo?"

I nodded my head and followed him down the hallway and as he answered the phone, I made my way into the living room to wake Leo…

 **The day was a success – and I think Caroline definitely got the upper hand with Elena and Damon, am I right?**


	9. Chapter 9

STEFAN'S POV:

I sat in the living room, Caroline rejoining me after putting Leo to bed. Carrying a beer in one hand, and a bowl of popcorn in the other, she set them on the coffee table as she sat down on the sofa, curling into me…

"I can't believe Leo let you put him to bed…" I admitted as she took a sip of her beer

"Why?" she questioned

"He's not normally not good with people he's only just met, but with you, it's amazing. Crazy." I replied "A good crazy, though."

"I've worked with kids for 3 years, Stefan," she informed me "if I wasn't good with them, I'd doubt myself…"

"Well there's definitely no need," I assured her "he loves you. And question; what was that song you were humming to him when you'd read him his bedtime story?"

"It's a song my Mom and Dad used to sing to me." she replied "I don't remember the words, only the tune, which is why I was humming it, but he loved it."

"You do realise that every time he stays over now, you're going to have to too?" I asked "He's not gonna want anyone else to put him to bed…"

"I'm okay with that." she informed me "Gives me chance to get my hands on your place."

"I hope that's not the only thing you want to get your hands on?" I inquired

Turning her head, she smiled at me warmly and leant forwards, pressing her lips against mine. Winding my arms around her waist, I pulled her to me, our chests colliding and a giggle escaping her lips as I moved to lay us down…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Caroline…" Stefan's voice spoke the next morning, pulling me from my slumber "Caroline…"

"Go away." I replied

"No!" Leo proclaimed, my eyes shooting open as he spoke "We have breakfast."

I smiled at them warmly as they came into view, a tray in Stefan's hands, and Leo holding a flower, handing it to me as I sat up…

"What is this?" I asked

"Breakfast in bed." Stefan informed me "Leo's idea."

"Really?" I questioned, turning my head to Leo

He nodded his head… "You make my Daddy happy."

"Well there seems to be enough here for all three of us, so I think we should get into bed and watch cartoons, what do you say?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at him

Leo nodded excitedly and jumped onto the bed, snuggling under the covers in the middle as Stefan set the tray down on my bedside table and moved around to the other side of the bed…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Do I have to go home?" Leo asked as Caroline and I drove him back to Elena's

"You do, I'm afraid, bud." I replied "You know you do."

"I want to stay with you and Caroline." he admitted "Why can't I?"

"C'mon, mate," I sighed as I pulled up at a set of traffic lights "y'know this is what happens, but next weekend, Caroline and I will have even more fun stuff planned."

"Promise?" he questioned

"Promise." I mirrored

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan pulled into the driveway and I turned my head to Leo as I unbuckled my seatbelt. Smiling at him warmly, I climbed out of the car and moved to his side, opening the door for him…

"Hi," Elena proclaimed as she made her way down the driveway "where's my boy?"

I glanced at Stefan as she reached the car, seeing Leo wasn't moving from his car seat…

"Leo, do you have a hug for Mommy?" I asked

"No." he replied

"What's going on?" Elena questioned

"I'm going home with Daddy!" Leo proclaimed

"No you're not, mate." Elena replied "Your dinner's on the table."

"I'm not going!" he informed her "You can't make me…"

"What's going on?" she inquired "Stefan?"

"He doesn't want to go, Elena…" he replied

"Why not?" she asked

"How am I supposed to know?" he questioned, sighing heavily

"Why don't you two head inside?" I suggested "And I'll sort this?"

"You'll sort it?" Elena inquired

I nodded my head… "Is that okay, Stefan?"

He nodded his head and moved over to Elena, guiding her into the house. Watching them as they disappeared out of sight, I turned back to Leo…

"Why don't you want to go inside, mate?" I asked

"I want to stay with you and Daddy." he admitted "With Mommy and Uncle Damon, we never do anything fun. Uncle Damon's too busy working."

I licked my lips and sighed… "Uncle Damon's busy earning money to keep the roof over yours and your Mommy's head, and to keep food on the table. But maybe I can ask your Daddy to have a word with Uncle Damon, see if he'll spend more time with you, would you like that?"

He shook his head… "I don't like Uncle Damon."

"Why not?" I questioned

"He gets angry." he replied

I pursed my lips together and glanced at the house, seeing Elena stood at the window watching… "What do you mean he gets angry?"

"I make him angry." he informed me

"How do you make him angry?" I inquired

"I spilt my juice on some of his work, and he got really angry." he replied

"Okay. Right, you stay here and I'm just gonna go and talk to your Mommy. I'll be back in a minute." I informed him, leaning into the car to press my lips against his forehead

Shutting the car door, I walked up the driveway and into the house, Elena making her way to the door…

"Where is he?" she questioned

"In the car." I informed her "Can I have a word please?"

"What's going on, Caroline?" Stefan asked

"It's okay." I replied, smiling at him warmly "We won't be long."

Elena followed me out of the house and out of earshot and I ran my hands over my face… "Can I ask you something?"

"I suppose." she replied

"What's Damon like when he comes home from work?" I questioned

"Why do you need to know that?" she asked

"Can you just answer the question please?" I inquired

"He's tired. He works hard to give us the life we've got. Why?" she questioned

"Did you know that he got angry with Leo?" I asked

"He snapped," she informed me "Leo spilt some juice on some of his documents and he got angry. He apologised when he'd calmed down though."

"Leo's scared." I admitted "That's why he doesn't want to come back inside."

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me "You're not serious, are you?"

"I am." I replied "Leo's scared, and if he's scared, I don't think he should go back inside."

"Are you telling me how I should bring up my own son?" she inquired

"No, not at all," I assured her "I just want what's best for everyone."

"What's best for everyone?" she asked "You want to know what's best for everyone? It's you keeping your nose out!"

"Elena, where are you going?" I inquired as she made her way down the driveway

Watching her as she pulled open Stefan's car door and got Leo out of his car seat, she grabbed his bag in her other hand and carried him into the house, his hits, kicks and screams not deterring her…

"Out!" she shouted to Stefan as I followed her up to the house

"What's going on?" he questioned as he reached me

"I don't want your girlfriend seeing my son anymore!" Elena informed Stefan before slamming the door in our faces, Leo's cries for Stefan and I being heard from inside

STEFAN'S POV:

"Caroline…" I spoke, my voice breaking as I did so

"We need to get him out of here." she informed me

"Why?" I questioned

"He's scared." she replied "Damon got angry at him."

"What do you mean Damon got angry at him?" I asked

"Leo spilt some juice on some of his work stuff, and got angry at him." she informed me "I asked Elena about it, and she said he apologised afterwards, but an adult shouldn't get so angry at a child to make them scared to be in their own home, should they?"

"He needs to be with us." I admitted

"He does," she replied "but we can't go in there all guns blazing. We need to come up with a plan and let it play out. Storming in there is only going to make things worse."

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "I can't believe I didn't see it."

"It's okay." she assured me, entwining her hand with mine "C'mon, let's go."

 **Were you expecting this twist or not? What are Caroline and Stefan going to do?**


	10. Chapter 10

CAROLINE'S POV:

I sat on the sofa, biting my thumbnail as Stefan spoke to his lawyer, continuously pacing the living room as he did so. I'd told him everything Leo had said to me and we'd agreed the best thing would be for him to talk to his lawyer. Watching him, he hung up the phone and sat down next to me…

"What did he say?" I questioned

"He's going to consult with Elena's lawyer. That's the only thing he can do." he replied

"And until then?" I asked

"We stick to the plan," he informed me "Leo's the main priority here, agreed?"

"Agreed." I mirrored, resting my head on his shoulder and entwining my hand with his "Do you want some food?"

I looked up at him and he nodded his head. Pressing my lips against his cheek, I left the room…

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline and I were climbing into bed that night when my phone began to ring. Seeing it was Elena, I told Caroline and answered it…

"Elena…" I proclaimed "What's the matter?"

"What do you think?" she questioned "You can hear him, right? He's been that way since you left. I don't know what to do."

"He's going to make himself ill, Elena," I replied "you need to do what he wants, before he makes himself vomit."

"You'd better come over then, hadn't you?" she inquired

"Are you sure?" I asked

"Do I have any other choice?" she questioned

"I'll be over in 15 minutes." I informed her

CAROLINE'S POV:

"What's going on?" I asked as Stefan hung up the phone

"I take it you heard Leo in the background?" he questioned as he began to redress "Elena says he's been like that since we left, so I need to go and get him before he makes himself sick."

"Shall I come?" I inquired

"No." he replied

"Okay. I'll see you both when you get back then." I informed him

"Caroline," he sighed, taking my hand in his as I climbed into bed "I didn't mean to snap. It's like we said earlier; I can't give Elena any more ammunition. We need to keep the peace."

"You're right." I replied "I just want what's best for Leo; you know that, right?"

He nodded his head… "You adore him, and he adores you. It's one of the many reasons I love you."

"What did you just say?" I questioned, pursing my lips together nervously

"That I love you…" he informed me "And it's not just a slip of the tongue thing. I do, Caroline. I love you."

I smiled at him warmly and moved onto my knees, throwing my arms around his neck… "I love you too!"

STEFAN'S POV:

I made my way up the driveway to the house and opened the back door, Leo running over to me as I did so…

"Careful, bud," I proclaimed "you almost knocked me off my feet."

"Sorry, Daddy, but I'm so excited," he replied "I'm coming to live with you and Caroline."

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "It's just tonight, bud."

"What?" he questioned

"You're only staying tonight, and then Caroline and I will take you to school in the morning and Mommy will pick you up." I informed him

"No…" he replied, folding his arms across his chest and stamping his foot

"Throwing a strop's not gonna get you anywhere." I admitted "It's how it has to be, bud, and you know that."

As he was about to reply, Elena made her way through, holding a suitcase in her hand, a weak smile on her face as she held it out to me…

"What?" I asked

"I don't wanna have to do this, but I feel as though it's my only option." she admitted "Leo's not happy here, so he can stay with you, on one condition."

"If it's about Caroline, I'm sorry but it's not happening." I informed her

"I don't want her anywhere near my son, Stefan." she replied "Not after what she accused Damon of."

"She didn't accuse Damon of anything." I sighed "All she cares about is Leo."

She exhaled a breath and handed the suitcase to me and bent down to Leo's height, pulling him into her… "Mommy loves you, little man."

"I love you too, Mommy." Leo replied

"Pinky promise we'll talk on the phone every day?" she asked, holding out her pinky finger to him

He nodded and linked his pinky with hers, Elena pressing a kiss to his nose as he did so. Exclaiming in disgust, he wiped his face and turned to me… "Can we go now?"

I smiled at Elena and she mouthed "thank you" to me. Lifting Leo into my arms, I made my way out of the house and down to my car…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"We're back." Stefan's voice called into the apartment almost an hour later

"Caroline!" Leo proclaimed, hurrying through to the kitchen

"Whoa, what happened in here?" Stefan inquired as he made his way through

"I'm stress cleaning." I informed him

"Leo, can you go to your room and get your pyjamas on please?" Stefan asked

"What about food?" he questioned

"I'll make you a sandwich in a minute, mate." I replied "Go on, do as your Dad says please."

"Why are you stress cleaning?" Stefan asked as Leo left the room "What is there to be stressed about?"

"I'm not stressed," I admitted "I'm just worried, and when something's on my mind, I clean."

He smiled at me warmly and shook his head… "Another reason why I love you."

"You love the fact that I'm a neurotic control freak?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at him

He nodded his head… "How have you managed to make my kitchen look like it's brand new in the space of an hour?"

"I'm good with my hands." I informed him

"I know you are." he replied, pulling me flush against his body "What are we gonna do?"

"What about?" I asked, placing my hands on his shoulders

"Elena's packed him a case and said he can stay here." he informed me "She doesn't know what to do anymore."

"We get through it the best way we can." I replied

"And how's that?" he questioned

"Together." I informed him, pressing my lips against his, pulling away as Leo walked into the room "Right, little guy, what do you want in your sandwich?"

"Peanut butter and jelly!" he proclaimed

I smiled at him warmly and ruffled his hair, laughing as he flattened it back down… "Coming up."

Turning my head, I saw Stefan smiling at our exchange and smiled warmly at him, mouthing "I love you" to him, a blush forming on my cheeks as he mouthed "I love you too" back…

 **Leo's staying with Stefan and Caroline for the foreseeable – how do you think that'll go? And Stefan and Caroline have said "I love you" for the first time. Awe!**


	11. Chapter 11

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Right, I have a meeting after school that's gonna go on till about 5:00pm," I informed Stefan as I looked in my diary the following morning "and Leo needs to be picked up from school at 2:45pm, so what are you going to do with him?"

"The new Minions movie is out. Two hours of pure torture!" he proclaimed

"Minions!" Leo shouted from the living room where he was watching cartoons and eating his breakfast

"It's official, my child has super-hearing." Stefan informed me as I smiled warmly "That should make life interesting…"

Slapping his arm, I wound my arms around his neck from behind, smiling at him warmly as he placed his hand on my forearm… "So, what are you going to do with him?"

"We'll go to see the Minions movie." he replied, leaning up to press his lips against mine "And you'd better get going, or you're going to be late."

I glanced at my watch and nodded my head in agreement… "Leo's pack up is in the fridge in the blue box. This weekend we'll pop out and get him everything we need – clothes, new bedding and new stuff for school, okay?"

"Yes, boss." he proclaimed, mock saluting me

"I like the sound of that." I admitted, blowing him a kiss as I walked out of the room

STEFAN'S POV:

"I'm so excited, Daddy!" Leo proclaimed as we walked hand-in-hand towards the movie theatre "Can I have popcorn, and ice cream, and a huge milkshake please?"

"I think we'll just have one of those," I replied "or else someone will be sick on the car journey home."

"You?" he questioned

"No, you, you monkey." I informed him

CAROLINE'S POV:

I arrived back at Stefan's and kicked the door shut behind me, setting my stuff down on the floor in the hallway and made my way into the kitchen and flicked on the kettle, seeing there was a message on the machine…

" _Hi, Stefan, it's Elena; I just called to see how Leo is, but obviously you're not in so I'll call again later. Bye."_

I pursed my lips together and moved over to the oven, pulling pots and pans out as I began to prepare dinner. Half-an-hour later, the vegetable lasagne was in the oven and cooking, and I walked through to the bedroom, changing into some comfier clothes, making a start on my next task…

STEFAN'S POV:

"We're back." I informed Caroline as Leo and I walked into the house

"We're back." Leo mirrored, turning and smiling at me as he spoke

"Hi," Caroline greeted us as she walked through from the kitchen "dinner's about to be served, so you both need to go and get changed please."

"Really?" Leo inquired "I'm just gonna be having a bath and getting into my pyjamas soon…"

"Hey," I proclaimed "don't get cheeky. Go and do as you're told, please."

"Okay…" he replied, smiling at me weakly before making his way down the hallway

"Hey," I greeted Caroline, pressing my lips against hers "how was your day?"

"Long." she informed me "How was yours?"

"Torture," I admitted "the Minions movie was absolute torture, and I know we're gonna have to buy it on DVD when it's released."

She smiled at me sympathetically and wound her arms around my waist… "I bet you loved it really, didn't you?"

"It was nice to see Leo so happy and content," I informed her "but other than that, no."

She pressed her lips against mine… "You're a big fibber, Stefan Salvatore. Now you need to go and change too."

"Do I really?" I asked "I'm just gonna be having a shower with my girlfriend soon enough…"

She smirked at me and slapped my chest… "We need to set an example to Leo, so yes, you do."

I walked into the bedroom and pulled off my shirt, laying it on the chair before moving over to my closet, pulling it open to find everything neatly arranged and folded into sections…

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan walked into the room as I set Leo's plate down in front of him and smiled at him warmly… "Hey."

"Hey." he mirrored, pressing his lips against mine "Something smells amazing."

"Thank you. It's a new perfume." I replied

I sighed contentedly as he pressed his lips against my neck… "Or it could be the vegetable lasagne."

"Yeah, I think it's that." he informed me, smirking at me as he pulled away "You've been busy…"

"I have." I admitted

"Not just in here…" he replied "You don't happen to know why my wardrobe is half empty, do you? It wouldn't happen to be the fact my super organised girlfriend is planning to move some things in, would it?"

I looked up at him… "Are you mad? Because if you are, I can always put it back to how it was before. It's just, I took it for granted because I've been staying here a lot, so I was thinking that it makes more sense for me to leave things here instead of trailing things backward and forwards."

"I wanted to talk to you about that, actually." he admitted

"About what?" I questioned

"You staying here a lot," he informed me "it's something we need to talk about."

"I've got the wrong end of the stick, haven't I?" I inquired "You don't want me here 24/7, not now you've got your son here too. It's okay, I'll pack up my things and head home, and leave you boys to enjoy your night."

"Caroline," he chuckled as I finally took a breath "it's fine. I actually wanted to ask you if you'd like to stay more often, like permanently…"

"Am I hearing you right?" I asked "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

He nodded his head… "If you want to."

"I want to," I informed him, smiling at him warmly "but I come with conditions…"

"And what would they be?" he questioned

"You let me add my magic touch to this place." I replied "It's dying for a woman's touch, Stefan."

"I am too." he admitted, sliding his hands into the back pockets of my jeans

Shoving him lightly, I rolled my eyes… "Is that a yes or a no? Because I have another condition too."

"Which is?" he inquired

"We go for custody of Leo," I replied "together, as a couple."

 **Bombshell alert! What will Stefan say to Caroline's suggestion?**


	12. Chapter 12

" _We go for custody of Leo, together, as a couple."_

STEFAN'S POV:

"I can't do that to Elena…" I admitted

"Seriously, after what she's done to you?" Caroline asked "Well now I know where I stand."

"I didn't mean it like that." I sighed, taking her hand and pulling her out of the room out of earshot "I can't do it Leo. I can't tear him from his Mom. He loves her."

"You think I was suggesting Elena didn't see him at all?" she inquired

"Weren't you?" I questioned

"No," she replied "but I think we need to get him away from Damon. We know Elena's not going to end her engagement to him, regardless of Leo's feelings, so we need to be the ones to do something about it."

"Caroline…" I sighed

"Don't "Caroline" me, Stefan. Your little boy needs a proper home and a stable family life from people who have good jobs that can give him what he needs. I'm not just talking about the materialistic stuff either. I mean love and hugs. When was the last time you saw Damon, or even Elena sit with him and help him do his homework, or just let him fall asleep on them?"

I pursed my lips together and sighed, bowing my head… "I don't know."

Watching as her footsteps moved closer to me, she tilted my chin and pressed her lips against mine softly… "Exactly. You need time to think about this, so I think it'd be a good idea if I do go back to mine tonight."

"Don't…" I proclaimed as she went to pick her bag up "Stay, and in the morning I'll ring my lawyer and arrange to see if we, you and me, can get Leo's residency changed to be with us."

"Are you sure?" she asked "I don't want you to feel as though I've pushed you into this."

"I'm sure." I replied "You're right. As much as Elena loves him, he's not happy there, and that's all I want for him – to be happy, so he needs to be here with us."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Right, movie time!" I proclaimed as I walked through to the living room to see Stefan and Leo curled up on the sofa under a blanket "Now I have the snacks, so where's my space?"

Stefan smiled at me warmly and he and Leo moved across, letting me settle at the end of the sofa. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder as I climbed under the blanket too, I rested my head on his shoulder, setting the snacks I'd brought through from the kitchen onto his lap…

"What're we watching?" Stefan inquired

"Harry Potter." Leo and I informed him in unison

"Okay." he replied, his arm tightening around my shoulder as he pressed play on the DVD remote

STEFAN'S POV:

"I think someone's worn out…" Caroline admitted, motioning to a fast asleep Leo who'd spread out at the other end of the sofa

"I think so too." I replied as I moved from underneath the blanket "Can you help me put him to bed?"

She nodded her head as she moved from the sofa too. Picking him up into my arms, we made our way into his bedroom and I laid him down on his bed, Caroline sitting on the edge as she began to remove his clothes and put him into his pyjamas before pulling his duvet over him. Pressing her lips against his forehead, she squeezed my arm as she turned to leave and made her way out of the room…

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan walked back through to the living room as I was tidying it up after the film and stopped me as I tidied up the cushions, cupping my cheeks in his hands and pressing his lips against mine…

"And that was for?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him

"You're amazing with Leo." he replied "And that's another reason I love you so much."

"Well, I have a suggestion…" I admitted

"And that would be?" he questioned

"Why don't you take me to bed and show me all the reasons you love me?" I inquired

Squealing in shock as he took a hold of my middle and threw me over his shoulder and carried me through to the bedroom, my laughing was soon covered by his mouth on mine, my legs finding their way around his waist…

 **Stefan's agreed to Caroline's idea of them getting Leo's residency changed to be with them, but what will happen when Elena finds out, I wonder?**


	13. Chapter 13

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan was working late tonight, so it was just Leo and I. watching him as he ate his dinner, I saw that the majority of his plate was empty, and he was pushing around the last of his peas…

"You all done there, bud?" I questioned

He shook his head… "I have to finish my peas."

"No you don't," I replied "if you're full, you're full."

"Mommy and Damon said…" he began

"Our tummy's tell us when we're full, so it's okay to leave food." I informed him "Especially at your age, as your tummy's still developing. And you've eaten everything else, so I think we're good over a few peas."

"Really?" he asked

I nodded my head… "Why don't you go and play for half-an-hour while I tidy up, and then we'll get you in the bath?"

"Okay." he replied

STEFAN'S POV:

I arrived home that evening and leant against the front door, sighing heavily as I did so, seeing Caroline make her way through from the kitchen…

"Hey," she greeted me "God, you look exhausted!"

"I am." I admitted "What a day!"

"Well dinner's in the oven, and there's some cold beers in the fridge. Or you can come and help me give Leo a bath. It's up to you…"

"I'll come with you." I informed her

Smiling at me warmly, she held her hand out to me and I took it, letting her lead me into the bathroom where Leo was in the process of getting undressed…

"Daddy!" he proclaimed "I missed you."

"I missed you too." I admitted "Have you been a good boy for Caroline?"

"He's been brilliant." she informed me as she began to run the bath "He ate all his dinner, and played nicely while I cleaned up."

CAROLINE'S POV:

Once Leo was fast asleep in bed, I walked through to the kitchen where Stefan was sat at the table, looking through a work document as he ate his dinner. Sitting down next to him, I smiled at him warmly as he turned his head to me…

"What's wrong?" he questioned

"Why would anything be wrong?" I asked

"I know there's something you want to tell me but you're not sure if you should," he replied "what is it?"

"Leo left some peas at dinner, but if I hadn't of stopped him, he would've forced them down." I informed him "When I told him it was okay to leave some, he said that Elena and Damon said, but I cut him off. They've been forcing him to finish all his dinner, Stefan, full or not."

"This just keeps getting better and better…" he sighed, running his hands over his face

"I'm sorry to dump this on you, but you needed to know." I admitted

"Thank you." he replied, entwining his hand with mine "The sooner my lawyer gets the letter of application to change residency drawn up and sent, the better."

"What?" I inquired

"I was speaking to him earlier and he said that's the only way we can make it happen," he explained "I wanted to ring you and tell you, but I thought it'd be better face-to-face, so there we go…"

"So this could actually be happening?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him

He nodded his head… "Elena's not going to be happy though."

"Have you told your lawyer to state on the letter that she still gets access?" I asked

"Yep," he replied "but when she finds out we don't want Damon near him, she's gonna freak!"

I smiled at him sympathetically and entwined my hand with his again… "We'll get through this, all of us, I promise."

He smiled at me warmly and placed his other hand over mine… "I hope so."

Leaning forwards, I pressed my lips against his… "I'm gonna go and get in the bath. When you're done in here, why don't you join me?"

"That's an offer I can't refuse." he replied

Standing, I moved over to him and wound my arms around his neck, pressing my lips against his skin as I did so, hearing him sigh contentedly before pulling away, making my way into the bathroom…

 **Stefan's lawyer is drawing up a letter to Elena to tell her about his and Caroline's application to have Leo's residency changed – how do you think she'll react when she finds out what they're planning? And does anybody have any ideas on what's to come?**


	14. Chapter 14

STEFAN'S POV:

The following evening, Caroline and I were bathing Leo when the buzzer started to ring continuously. Exchanging a look, I pressed my lips to her forehead and rose to my feet…

"Why don't I go?" she suggested

"I should be the one to deal with it." I informed her

"Daddy, Caroline…" Leo spoke

"You stay with him," I replied "I won't be long."

I walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door to behind me as I did so and buzzed Elena into the building, opening the door before she could start knocking…

"What the hell is this?" she questioned, pushing the letter against my chest "How dare you!"

"I'm doing what's best for my son." I informed her

"What's best?" she inquired "How can you think being torn from his Mom is what's best? This is Caroline's idea, isn't it? Who am I kidding? Of course it is…"

"Yes it was her idea, but only because she cares so damn much about Leo." I replied "And if you read the letter properly, you'll see that I'm not tearing Leo from you, but from Damon."

"Why do you need to tear him from Damon?" she asked "He loves him!"

"You're deluded." I sighed, running my hands over my face "Damon doesn't want to play Dad to my son anymore than I want him to. I want him here with me, Elena, full-time."

"Then get ready for a fight!" she proclaimed

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Where did Daddy go?" Leo asked as I picked him up out of the bath and wrapped a towel around him

"He's just gone to deal with whoever's at the door." I informed him "Now you wait in here, and I'll go and get your pyjamas."

As I opened the door, Leo pushed past me and made his way out into the hallway. Sighing, I hurried after him…

"Mommy, what are you doing here?" he asked as we reached the front door

"Your Daddy and I were just talking," Elena replied "and now we need to go. C'mon…"

"Why?" he questioned, moving to stand by Stefan "I don't want to go."

"Leo, do as you're told, please." she sighed

"Elena, please." I begged

"Don't. Don't you dare!" she proclaimed

"I know you hate us right now and you have every right to, but what do you think this is going to achieve?" I questioned "It's nearly Leo's bedtime, so leave him here and I'll bring him to you first thing tomorrow before school."

"How am I meant to trust anything you say?" she asked

"Maybe you can't," I replied "but what's the most important thing here to all three of us?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat… "I want him back with me by 8am tomorrow morning."

"He'll be there." I assured her "But please, can you promise me something?"

"Why should I do anything for you?" she inquired

"Elena, please." I begged

"What?" she asked

"Don't disappear," I replied "and don't shut us out. We're all in this together, and we only want what's best for Leo."

STEFAN'S POV:

"How did you do that?" I questioned as Caroline shut the door on Elena

"Leo, can you go and get into your pyjamas please?" she asked

He nodded his head and disappeared down the hallway and Caroline turned to me, resting her head against my chest…

"What's wrong?" I inquired, rubbing my hands up and down her back soothingly

"Everything." she replied "It's all a mess, and all because of my stupid suggestion…"

"It wasn't a stupid suggestion." I informed her "Like you said, we're doing what's best for Leo and that's what matters."

"And what if for some reason we don't get Leo's residency?" she questioned "What then?"

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it." I replied "But for now, we need to focus on Leo. Why don't you head to bed?"

"What?" she asked

"You look exhausted." I admitted "And no wonder. You've been up since 5am every morning since Leo came to stay. You must be shattered…"

"I am, actually." she sighed "Tell you what, if I go to bed now, will you order takeout and bring me some when it arrives?"

"You have my word." I informed her

Smiling at me warmly, she pressed her lips against mine…

 **Elena knows about Stefan and Caroline's plan and isn't happy – who do you think will get residency of Leo? Any ideas?**


	15. Chapter 15

CAROLINE'S POV:

I woke up the next morning and climbed out of bed, dizziness washing over me as I did so. Placing my hand on the bedside table as I sat back down, I lowered my head and inhaled and exhaled…

"Caroline?" Stefan's voice questioned "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just stood up too quickly." I informed him

"You sure?" he asked "If you want, I can take Leo to Elena's…"

"You've got enough on today," I replied "I'll be fine."

"Those other things can wait," he admitted, moving closer to me, pressing his lips against my shoulder "you and your health are the most important thing."

"I'm fine." I assured him, turning my head to face him "I promise."

At 7:30am, Leo and I left the house and made our way downstairs to the car to head to Elena's. Pulling into her driveway twenty minutes later, I switched off my engine and rested my head against the steering wheel, a wave of nausea coming over me…

"Caroline…" Leo spoke

"C'mon, let's get you inside." I replied

"I don't want to go." he admitted

"I know you don't, but it's what needs to happen, mate," I informed him "you need to understand that, so can you do it for me, please?"

"Okay." he replied, smiling at me warmly

Climbing out of the car, I opened the door for Leo to climb out too and grabbed his suitcase that Elena had sent home with Stefan when he'd come to stay. Locking my car behind me, I followed him up the driveway to the house, everything turning black as Elena opened the door…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Elena, hi." I greeted her "What's the matter? Has Caroline not shown up or something?"

"No, she's here," she replied "but she's not in a good way."

"What do you mean?" I questioned

"She's unconscious, Stefan." she informed me "I've called an ambulance so you can either meet it at the hospital or head over here now."

"I'll be there in 10." I proclaimed, hanging up the phone

CAROLINE'S POV:

I opened my eyes, closing them again as the sunlight seeping through the windows blinded me and groaned…

"Caroline?" Stefan's voice asked "Are you okay?"

"What? Where am I?" I questioned

"You're at Elena's," he informed me "you passed out. She's called an ambulance and it's on it's way."

"No!" I proclaimed, easing myself up "I'm fine. I'm not going to hospital!"

"You passed out." he replied "You need to go and be checked out."

"I'm fine," I assured him "I've just been doing too much lately. Like you said, I'm probably exhausted from being up at 5am everyday. All I need is for you to take me home so I can go to bed."

"That's not happening, not unless you humor me and go to the hospital to be checked out." he admitted "I want to be sure you're okay."

"Caroline!" Leo proclaimed as I was about to reply "Are you okay?"

"Sorry," Elena replied as she followed him into the room "nice to see you back in the land of the living."

I smiled at her weakly… "Fine, I'll go to the hospital, but no ambulance. I don't want a fuss."

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline had been moved to a semi-private room for tests, and a nurse had told us as she'd returned from a scan that a doctor would be with us shortly. Watching her as she sat on the bed, looking at something on her phone, I took her hand in mine…

"Talk to me…" I begged

"What about?" she questioned

"How you're feeling." I replied "Are you scared?"

"Nervous." she informed me "Anxious."

I stroked my thumb over her skin and was about to speak when the door opened, a female doctor making her way into the room…

"Hi, Miss. Forbes," she greeted Caroline "I'm Doctor Michaels. Do you have any idea at all why you blacked out?"

"None." she replied "I've been eating well and drinking plenty. Do you know why it happened?"

She nodded her head… "We've had all your test results back and from the results of your urine test, you blacked out because you're pregnant."

"What?" she asked "We've always been careful…"

"Not all methods of contraception are effective," she replied "but we'd like to do an ultrasound, just to check on baby."

"How far along would you say I am?" she inquired

"That's what we'll figure out from the scan too." she informed us "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Pregnant…" Caroline whispered as Doctor Michaels left the room

"Yeah." I replied

"What are you thinking?" she asked

"I'm happy." I admitted

"Really?" she questioned

I nodded my head… "We're having a baby, Caroline."

"I know that," she replied "but we've not been together that long. There's so much we need to consider."

"And we will, in the fullness of time." I assured her "But right now we need to concentrate on the fact that you're pregnant and finding out if the baby's okay. You do want to keep it, don't you?"

She nodded her head… "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay." I replied, rising to my feet to press my lips against her forehead "Everything's gonna be okay, I promise."

 **Caroline's pregnant – how many of you were expecting that?**


	16. Chapter 16

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Caroline Forbes…" a midwife called as Stefan and I sat in the Maternity ward of Mystic Falls hospital, waiting for our first scan

"You ready?" he questioned

I rose to my feet and took his hand in mine, nodding my head as I did so… "Let's go see our baby."

"Okay." he replied, pressing his lips against mine softly

STEFAN'S POV:

I sat in the chair beside the bed and watched as Caroline lifted her t-shirt up, the midwife squirting some gel onto her stomach, beginning to move the Doppler over her stomach…

"Right," she spoke a couple of minutes later "here we go…"

"Can you tell us how far along she is please?" I asked as I entwined my hand with Caroline's

"Judging by baby's size, I'd say a month-and-a-half." she informed me

"And everything seems to be okay?" Caroline questioned

"Everything seems fine." she replied "I'm just going to take some measurements and double check everything's okay and then you'll be free to go."

CAROLINE'S POV:

I stood at the fridge, staring at the scan picture Stefan and I had asked to be printed off, feeling his arms wrap around my waist as I did so, his lips pressing against the skin of my neck as I stood there in silence…

"Can you believe it?" I inquired

"Nope," he replied "it's not sunk in yet."

"It hasn't for me either…" I admitted "We should tell Elena."

"Why?" he questioned

"She needs to know, so we can sit down and discuss what happens with Leo." I informed him

"I still want Leo here with us…" he admitted

"I do too, but what about when this one comes?" I asked "Are we going to manage? Are we going to have enough time for them both? I don't want Leo to feel pushed out…"

"Stop worrying," he replied "everything will work itself out."

"How are you managing to be so calm?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him

"It's a gift." he informed me, pressing his lips against mine as I turned to him

STEFAN'S POV:

"Who is it?" Caroline asked as I walked back through to the living room, Stefan having gone to answer the door as the buzzer rang

"Elena and Leo." I informed her

"What are they doing here?" she questioned, moving to her feet

I shrugged my shoulders in reply, hearing the door close behind them. Making my way to the doorway, Caroline following, I saw Leo make his way down to his bedroom, the door closing behind him a minute later…

"What's going on?" I asked

"Damon shouted at him." she informed me

"What?" I inquired "Why?"

"He left some Lego blocks out, and he almost fell on them." she replied

"So that condones him shouting, does it?" Caroline questioned

"No," Elena proclaimed "I'm not saying it does. I'm going back to talk to him, to end things..."

"You're leaving him?" I asked

She nodded her head… "I can't be with him when he's going to do that to my son."

"Where are you going to go?" Caroline questioned

"I'll find a place." she replied "But that's why I want Leo here for now. I don't want him in a grotty motel with me overnight."

"Why don't you stay here too?" Caroline suggested

"What?" she asked

"We've got a spare bedroom, and Leo's your son. It'd be better that you were here given what's happened." Caroline replied

"Won't it be awkward?" she questioned

"Maybe, but we're just gonna have to move past it." she informed her "So, are you going to accept the offer or not?"

"Stefan?" she inquired

"Hmm?" I asked

"You're very quiet…" she admitted "What do you think?"

"I think Caroline's right." I informed her "We've got the room, so you may as well stay."

"Okay," she replied "thank you."

CAROLINE'S POV:

After making up the spare bedroom, I walked through to the kitchen to make my way into the laundry room to get fresh towels for Elena when I saw Leo standing in front of the fridge, staring at the scan picture…

"Leo?" I questioned

"Are you and Daddy having another me?" he asked

I moved over to him, nodding my head as I did so… "But just so you know, this doesn't mean either of us love you less. Yes we're having a baby, but we love both of you equally."

"I hope it's a boy." he informed me

"What?" I inquired

"I want it to be a boy, so I can play soccer and Playstation with him and Daddy." he replied

I smiled at him warmly… "Are you okay?"

He nodded his head and wrapped his arms around me, hugging himself against me tightly…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Leo knows." Caroline informed me as she walked into the bedroom, scan picture in hand

"What?" I questioned "How?"

"He saw the scan picture." she replied

"And how did he take it?" I inquired

"He's excited," she informed me "he wants it to be a boy so he can play Playstation and soccer with you and this one."

I smiled at her warmly as she spoke… "When Leo's at school tomorrow, we need to sit Elena down and tell her too."

"I agree." she replied "How do you think she'll take it?"

"I have no idea." I admitted

 **Caroline and Stefan have had their first scan, and Leo found the picture and knows. How do you think Elena will take it?**


	17. Chapter 17

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Bad news…" I admitted as I walked back into the bedroom, smiling as I saw Stefan stood before me, clad in just a pair of black boxers

"What's the bad news?" he asked

"Right." I replied, shaking my head "I've been called in early. Rebekah says George wants to have a meeting with all the staff before the day starts, so I have to go in soon."

"What about telling Elena?" he questioned

"Maybe you could do it?" I suggested "It'd be better coming from just you, I think…"

"Do you? And why's that?" he inquired

"Because you have a way with words." I informed him "And you know if I could get out of it I would but I can't. So are you okay to do it on your own?"

"I'd rather tell her our happy news together but yeah, I'm okay to do it on my own." he replied

Smiling at him warmly, I wrapped my arms around his bare waist, scratching my nails lightly along the bottom of his back, smirking as he groaned and reached up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips against the corner of his mouth…

"How long till you have to be at this meeting?" he questioned

"I can spare you half-an-hour." I replied

Bringing his hands up to cup my cheeks, he pulled my face to his and smashed our lips together, the gasp that escaped my mouth being swallowed by his mouth as he walked us backwards towards the bed…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Thanks for taking Leo to school with me," Elena sighed as we made our way back into the apartment "it made his day!"

"You're welcome." I replied "Coffee?"

"Please. So you said you wanted to talk to me about something, what is it?" she asked

I flicked the kettle on and turned to face her, resting my hands on the worktop… "Caroline's pregnant."

"Okay. Congratulations!" she proclaimed

"Thanks." I replied, smiling at her warmly "But that's not the only thing; Leo knows too…"

"How?" she questioned

"He saw the scan picture last night." I informed her "Caroline found him in here looking at it."

"How did he take it?" she inquired "He's not scared or worried, is he? Because he's been through enough this past 24 hours."

"He's fine with it." I replied "He's excited to be a big brother."

She smiled at me warmly and sighed… "Good, I'm glad. Well, we'll be out of your hair as soon as we possibly can."

"That actually leads me to my other point…" I admitted

"Which is?" she asked

"Caroline and I have spoken about it, and we still want to have Leo here with us." I informed her

"I thought you were only doing that to get him away from Damon…" she admitted

"At first I was, but I don't want to be a part-time Dad, Elena." I replied

"You're not going to be, not in a few months time when Caroline pops!" she proclaimed "You can't have it all, Stefan, and expect me to have nothing. It's not fair."

"I'm not expecting you to have nothing." I informed her "We'll share custody, but I want Leo here with us, with me and Caroline."

CAROLINE'S POV:

I walked into the empty teachers lounge and sat down, keeping my hands crossed across my stomach, trying to shake the worrying thoughts of the fact that I'd been spotting all morning…

"Caroline!" Rebekah proclaimed

"What?" I questioned

"I asked if you wanted a coffee," she informed me "what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." I replied

"Caroline Forbes, I've been your best friend since we were 4. I know when something's wrong with you." she admitted "What is it?"

I pursed my lips together nervously and tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall, mentally kicking myself as I felt one slide down my cheek…

"Caroline," she whispered, crouching down in front of me, taking my hands in hers "what is it?"

"I think I need to go to the Emergency room." I informed her "I've been having cramps for a few hours now and I'm spotting."

"Okay." she replied "Let's go, and I'll phone Stefan on the way."

"What if?" I began

"Don't!" she proclaimed, entwining her hand with mine

STEFAN'S POV:

"You're being selfish…" Elena admitted as she walked up and down the kitchen "Leo's away from Damon and he's not in any danger, so why can't we keep things the way they are?"

"I don't want to, Elena." I sighed "I want him here, with me, to be a family with Caroline and I. He needs that stability."

"He had that…" she replied

"Had. Past tense." I informed her "He needs it constantly, 24 hours a day."

"And what makes you think you and Caroline will be able to give him the family he needs?" she questioned "Do you know how stressful having a newborn baby is. Mix a 4 year old in with that and it'll be chaos."

"Yes I do know," I replied "because it made you cheat on me with my brother."

As she was about to reply, my phone began to ring. Pulling it from my jeans pocket, I saw it was Rebekah's caller ID…

"Hi, Rebekah," I greeted her as I answered "is everything okay? Is Caroline okay? Okay, hold her hand for me until I get there please. I'm on my way…"

"Stefan, what is it?" Elena asked as I hung up the phone

"Caroline's been taken to hospital." I informed her "I have to go."

Grabbing my keys as I hurried through to the hallway, I slammed the apartment door shut behind me and hurried down the stairs to the car park…

 **Is Caroline going to be okay or is she going to lose hers and Stefan's baby? And if she does lose it, what impact will it have on their relationship?**


	18. Chapter 18

CAROLINE'S POV:

"How's the pain?" Rebekah asked as we sat in the waiting room

"It's getting worse." I admitted, licking my dry lips "I'm losing it, aren't I?"

She smiled at me weakly and entwined her hand with mine… "We don't know that for sure. I'm gonna go to the desk, see if we can speed things up a bit, okay?"

I nodded my head and watched her as she stood and made her way over to the reception desk…

"Caroline Forbes!" a woman's voice called a couple of minutes later

"Let's go and check on that baby of yours, shall we?" Rebekah asked, holding out her hand to me

"Where's Stefan?" I questioned "I want to wait for Stefan…"

"He'll be here soon, but y'know what traffic's like." she replied "Come on. We need to go in."

"Caroline, why don't we get you comfortable and ready for the scan, and if you still want to wait for your partner, we can do." the woman who'd called my name suggested

"Is that okay?" I asked

She nodded her head… "It's fine. Come on through."

STEFAN'S POV:

"Caroline Forbes, where is she?" I questioned as I hurried through to the Emergency Room reception

"Stefan…" Rebekah's voice called as I waited for the receptionist to search the computer

"Where is she?" I asked

"In there," she replied, motioning to a room "getting organised for the scan."

"How is she?" I inquired

"Not good…" she admitted, smiling at me weakly

CAROLINE'S POV:

I eased myself up onto the bed when a soft knock at the door sounded and Stefan poked his head around. Feeling the tears spring to my eyes as I saw him, he made his way into the room and shut the door behind him, moving over to me and entwining his hand with mine…

"Shall we get started?" the midwife asked

I glanced up at Stefan and exhaled a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, nodding my head…

STEFAN'S POV:

"I'm very sorry to tell you this, but you've lost your baby." the midwife informed Caroline and I a few minutes later "If you'd like, I could get a doctor to give you a second check, but it's highly likely he'll give you the same outcome as I have."

"It's fine. Thank you." I replied

She nodded her head… "I'll leave you be. Take as long as you need."

Smiling at the midwife as she left the room, I turned my head to Caroline who was staring into space…

"Caroline?" I questioned, rubbing my thumb across her knuckles, swallowing a lump in my throat as she pulled her hand from mine "Did you hear what the midwife said?"

"I'm not deaf, Stefan," she replied "of course I heard what she said. I'm not pregnant anymore."

"Talk to me…" I begged

"What is there to talk about?" she questioned "We're not pregnant anymore. We're not having a baby, so there's no need to stay together."

"What?" I asked

"I know you were only staying with me out of duty when I told you I was pregnant," she admitted "now Elena's free and single again, you can go back to her."

"You think that's what I want?" I inquired

"Why else would you let her move in with us when she needed a place to stay?" she asked

"You said…" I began

"I need some time." she informed me "Don't try phoning or texting. I need to be on my own…"

CAROLINE'S POV:

I arrived back at the apartment, thankful that Elena was out. Moving through to the kitchen, I saw the scan picture sat on the fridge, pride of place and placed my hand over my stomach, biting on my bottom lip as I felt the tears come to the surface. Pulling the scan picture from it's home on the fridge, I left…

 **Oh dear, things aren't looking good, are they? Will Stefan and Caroline recover from this?**


	19. Chapter 19

STEFAN'S POV:

"I saw Caroline leave," Rebekah admitted as she walked into the room "I'm so sorry, Stefan."

"What am I supposed to do?" I questioned "We've always dealt with things together, and right now we need to be together."

She smiled at me weakly and placed her hand on my shoulder… "I know it's hard, but this is how she gets her head around things. You just need to give her time."

"I can't give her time, Rebekah," I replied "I need her and she needs me."

"What are you going to do?" she asked

"Anything I can to get her back." I informed her

"Don't you think should give her just a little while?" she suggested "Time apart might do you good…"

CAROLINE'S POV:

I sat in my old apartment, the place empty, sitting on the cold, hard floor, a bottle of vodka in one hand and a scan picture of mine and Stefan's now dead baby in the other…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Stefan…" Elena's voice proclaimed as I walked into the apartment "God, Stefan, I'm so sorry!"

"No you're not," I replied "you're just saying you are because you're worried this is going to force me into trying to speed up proceedings to get Leo here with me. Well it's not, because I don't know if Caroline and I are going to be together anymore."

"What?" she questioned

"She's gone…" I informed Elena

"What?" she inquired "She's gone? Where?"

"She said she needed space." I replied

"And you haven't tried to get in touch?" she questioned

"I don't want to push her." I admitted

"Maybe she needs to be pushed." she replied

"She's just lost our baby, Elena." I proclaimed "That little person growing inside of her has gone. Think about how you would be feeling right about now if it was you and you'd lost Leo…"

"Why don't I leave you and Leo to have some guy time here? Playstation, soccer, whatever?" she suggested, raising an eyebrow at me

CAROLINE'S POV:

The intercom to my apartment sounded and I sighed heavily, draining the bottle of vodka before rising to my feet, stumbling as I walked across the apartment, leaning against the wall as I answered…

"Do you not remember what I said to you, Stefan?" I questioned

"It's not Stefan." Elena's voice informed me

"What are you doing here?" I asked

"Stefan's doing it tough without you, and from the sounds of it, you're doing the same without him," she replied "so why don't you let me in so we can have a chat?"

"Not happening. Bye!" I proclaimed

"I'll ring everybody in this building until someone lets me in." she admitted "And then I'll knock on your door until you let me in, Caroline.

Sighing heavily, I pressed the open door button to let her in and opened my apartment door…

"Hey." she greeted me as she walked in and shut the door behind her "How you doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing?" I questioned

"Terrible." she replied "You're sad, you're angry, you're guilty and you're sick to the back teeth of constantly being asked if you're okay, which is why you've had to get away. Am I close?"

"On the money." I informed her "Drink?"

"Don't you think you've had enough?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me

"How else am I supposed to forget about the pain?" I inquired

"You don't." she informed me "You let it in and you let it consume you, and in time, it'll get easier to live every day."

"What if it doesn't?" I questioned

"Trust me, it will." she replied "You'll have Stefan by your side, so how could it not?"

"I said some horrible things to him." I admitted "I doubt he even wants to see me…"

"He's worried sick about you, Caroline." she informed me "If you don't come back with me, what are Stefan and I supposed to tell Leo? Come back with me, and I'll pick Leo up from his friend's house and take him out, give you and Stefan the space to talk and see where you go from here. It's what you need to do."

"How do you know what I need to do?" I asked

"Because I should've done the same thing when I lost mine and Stefan's baby." she admitted

"What?" I questioned

"A few years before Leo was born, about 6 months in to mine and Stefan's relationship, I found out I was pregnant. I'd planned to tell him and had everything set up especially when I noticed I was bleeding. I was about to leave for the hospital when Damon stopped me and asked me what was wrong and for some reason, I couldn't lie to him, so he took me and was with me when I received the news that I'd lost our baby, and he and I have shared that secret ever since." she informed me

"And Stefan has no idea?" I inquired "How can you be so cruel?"

"Excuse me?" she questioned

"Every day since you left him for Damon, Stefan has been wondering what he's done wrong," I replied "and you've kept him from being able to grieve for his child that he knows nothing about. God, you're even more of a bitch than I thought."

"Where're you going?" she asked

"To see Stefan." I informed her "Be with him whilst we grieve for our child."

"Caroline, I need to know…" she began

"I won't tell him, not because I don't want to, but because it's not my place," I replied "if you have a decent bone in your body, you'll tell him."

 **Elena went to talk to Caroline, and ended up revealing a secret of her own – were you expecting that? And what do you think will happen once Stefan and Caroline talk?**


	20. Chapter 20

CAROLINE'S POV:

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I arrived at the apartment building. Making my way into the lobby, I decided against waiting for the elevator and took the stairs instead, needing the time to think before I saw Stefan. Finally reaching his, our, apartment door, I reached for the keys that were in my handbag and thought against it, ringing the doorbell…

STEFAN'S POV:

I walked through from the living room as I heard the doorbell rang, pulling the door open to Caroline, seeing that she had a weak smile on her face…

"I'm sorry…" she whispered

Stepping forwards, I enveloped her and wrapped my arms around her tightly, sighing with relief as she did the same, feeling her fingers cling to the back of my t-shirt…

"You could've used your keys." I informed her as we pulled apart

"I didn't think I had the right." she admitted

"This is your home." I replied, taking her hand and leading her in "You never have to knock."

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and I walked through to the kitchen and I set my handbag down on one of the chairs at the table, proceeding to make us a cup of coffee each…

"Elena text; she and Leo won't be back for ages. She's picking him up from his friend's and taking him to the zoo," he informed me as I sat down "so…"

"Good, because we've got a lot to talk about." I admitted

"I don't have a right to be upset. This thing, it was just a blob…" I sighed

"You don't believe that. It was so much more than a blob, even if we weren't that far along. It was a baby right from conception." he replied

"How are we gonna get through this, Stefan?" I asked "Because I'm struggling to see a way."

"Remind me, how do you tell me we're gonna get through the tough times?" he inquired "That's right – together. And that's how we're gonna do it. Right now it may absolutely kill us to think about it, but one day we'll wake up and it'll hurt less. I don't know when that day will be but for your sake, I hope it's soon. But I promise you, Caroline, that day will come."

"I want our baby back, Stefan…" I admitted, pursing my lips together as I felt the tears sting the backs of my eyes as I spoke "There was so much we should've been doing right now."

"I know you do, and so do I. And when the time is right, we'll start to try again and it'll happen for us." he informed me, entwining his hand with mine

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "I don't think I can go through it again."

"What?" he questioned

"I can't put you through it, I can't put myself through it and I can't put Leo through it either." I admitted "I can't have another baby."

"Listen to me, okay?" he asked "You adore children, and they adore you. I know you and I know that one day you're going to want to try for another one, but for now, we have Leo. He loves you and looks on you as his Mom as well as Elena…"

"Leo!" I proclaimed "Where is he? Is he okay?"

"He's at the zoo with Elena, do you not remember me saying?" he asked

"I don't remember what I said ten minutes ago." I admitted "Everything's just blurring into one. But Leo, he's okay, yeah?"

He nodded his head… "He doesn't know about the baby yet. I didn't want to tell him, not without you."

"So we have to tell him?" I questioned

"I could ask Elena to if you want, if you think it'll be too hard, but I think us telling him together will give us some closure." he replied

"Maybe. I feel numb. Do you feel numb?" I inquired "I mean, what are we meant to say to Leo?"

"When the time comes, I'll do the talking." he informed me, squeezing my hand that was still entwined with his "And yeah, I do feel numb. But we're in this together, Caroline, and we're gonna get through it together, I promise."

"Did you mean what you said about me being a second Mom to Leo?"

"Of course I did. He loves you so much and when I told him you'd gone away for a while, he was so upset. When he saw you collapse at Elena's, she said she'd never seen him so worried or scared before. You are made to be a Mom, and seeing you with Leo melts my heart, and one day we'll make it happen. One day, we'll be a family. The four of us."

"I want that day to be now…" I admitted "I know I said I didn't want another child but I don't know what I'm saying or what I want. I just want it to stop hurting."

"If it's meant to happen, it'll happen." he informed me

"Promise?" I questioned

"Promise." he mirrored

 **Caroline and Stefan have made up and she's back where she belongs, but they've still got to tell their tragic news to Leo – how do you think that'll go?**


	21. Chapter 21

CAROLINE'S POV:

"I don't think I can do this…" I admitted, stopping in my tracks as Stefan and I made our way down the hallway to Leo's room later that evening

"It's okay." he replied "Just hold my hand and I'll do the talking."

Glancing down as he stretched out his hand, I looked up and into his eyes, finding myself smiling at him weakly as I did so. Entwining my hand with his, he knocked on Leo's bedroom door and proceeded to walk in, me shutting the door behind us…

"Hi, bud, do you think me and Caroline can have a talk to you?" he asked

"Is this about me and Mommy staying here?" he questioned "Are we not going to be anymore? Are we moving out? Because I don't want to go; I want to stay here…"

"It's not that, mate," Stefan replied "you're staying here for as long as you want. Right, do you remember Caroline told you that you were going to have a little brother or sister?"

I watched Leo as he nodded his head, Stefan tightening his hold on my hand as he began to speak again…

"Well I know you're going to be a bit upset and it's okay to be, because Caroline and I are too, but we're not having a baby anymore. You see, sometimes, if the baby isn't well or if it doesn't want to be born, it decides to go to heaven." he explained

"Like Granddad?" he inquired

"Yeah, like Granddad." Stefan informed him "He'll look after the baby."

"Was it a boy or a girl?" he asked

"We don't know. The baby hadn't decided." Stefan replied

"I think it would've been a girl, even though I wanted it to be a boy. Then she would've been pretty like Caroline." he informed us

I smiled warmly and watched as Leo stood up and moved over to us, hugging us both. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I could feel the tears building in the backs of my eyes and quickly pulled away, mentally kicking myself as I noticed the worried look on Leo's face as I hurried from the room, bursting into tears as I made my way into mine and Stefan's bedroom…

"Caroline, are you okay?" Elena questioned as I sat on the end of the bed

"I'm a mess." I admitted

"It's okay," she replied, wrapping her arm around my shoulder "it's okay…"

"How did you manage to keep it in check?" I asked "When you lost yours and Stefan's baby?"

"I was well aware that I had to keep it a secret, so I did everything I could not to break even though I wanted to," she admitted "at times I almost did, but I managed to keep it together for the most part."

"You didn't have to keep it a secret at all!" I proclaimed

"What?" she questioned

"You didn't have to keep it a secret from Stefan. In fact, why did you?" I inquired

STEFAN'S POV:

"I didn't mean to make Caroline cry." Leo admitted

"I know, bud, and so does she," I replied "she's just very upset right now, so you need to keep giving her lots of hugs and telling her you love her, okay?"

"I hugged her just now and she cried. I don't want to make her cry. I want to make her smile again." he informed me "Can we get her some flowers? She likes flowers, doesn't she?"

I nodded my head… "Why don't you go and sit with Caroline? Maybe watch a movie? And I'll go and get some flowers…"

"Okay." he replied

CAROLINE'S POV:

"We shouldn't be talking about this…" Elena sighed

"Why?" I questioned "Are you afraid Stefan's going to overhear and find out your secret?"

"All I'm doing is trying to comfort you," she replied "why do you keep bringing up something that needs to remain in the past?"

"Because you were pregnant with Stefan's baby and you miscarried," I informed her "don't you think he has a right to know?"

"Of course I do," she sighed "and there have been times when I've been so close to telling him but not anymore, not now he's going through that pain. I couldn't do that to him twice."

I swallowed a lump in my throat and as I was about to reply, I heard Leo's voice say my name… "Hey, mate."

"Hi." he greeted me

"Where's your Daddy?" I questioned

"He went out." he informed me "Can we watch a film?"

"I think that's a great idea." Elena admitted "How about Despicable Me?"

"Just me and Caroline…" Leo replied

I looked at Elena as Leo spoke and sighed… "Can't your Mommy join us, mate?"

"I want it to just be me and you, as you need love and hugs." he informed me

"I think that's a lovely idea." Elena replied

"You do?" I questioned "Are you sure?"

She nodded her head… "I'll see you guys later."

STEFAN'S POV:

"Leo," I called as I walked into the apartment half-an-hour later "can you come here please, bud?"

A couple of minutes later, Leo made his way into the hallway and smiled at me as I held out the flowers to him. Taking my shoes off, I followed him through to the living room, a smile appearing on Caroline's face as she Leo presented her with the flowers…

"What is this?" she asked as she took the flowers from him

"I wanted to make you smile." he informed her

"Mission accomplished." she replied, pulling him in for a hug "They're beautiful, thank you."

"I went and got them…" I proclaimed

She smiled at me warmly and rose from the sofa, pressing her lips against mine softly… "Thank you to you too."

"You're welcome." I replied

"I'm gonna get them into some water." she admitted, making her way out of the room

CAROLINE'S POV:

I was busy sorting the flowers into a vase when Stefan wound his arms around my waist from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder. Turning my head, I pressed my lips against his cheek…

"Thank you." I sighed

"What for?" he questioned

"Making me feel better." I informed him

"You're welcome." he replied "Where's Elena?"

"She's gone out. Leo told her that he wanted to watch a movie with just me. I think she was a bit hurt, but she understood when he said I needed love and hugs. I'm guessing that was your doing too?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him

"Maybe…" he admitted "But it was Leo's idea to get you flowers. He said he wanted to make you smile."

"I know it's gonna upset Elena, but I don't care…" I informed him

"What's gonna upset her?" he inquired

"Us going for residency of Leo." I replied "I want him with us, now more than ever."

"Are you sure?" he questioned

I nodded my head… "That little boy is amazing, and whether he's blood or not, he's my son. I know people will probably think it's crazy of me to think that, but we've been through so much in these past 4 months, I just want a little bit of happiness, and when I think of Leo as my son, it does make me happy, because he is. I love him as though he's my own, Stefan."

He smiled at me warmly and wound his arms around my waist, pressing his lips against mine… "Do you have any idea how much hearing you say that makes me love you?"

I shook my head… "No. How much?"

"More than words can describe." he informed me "Now how about we go and join our son and snuggle up together as a family?"

"What about Elena?" I asked, pursing my lips together nervously

"I don't know…" he admitted "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

 **How cute of a family do Stefan, Caroline and Leo make? And what will Elena think to Caroline and Stefan still wanting residency of Leo?**


	22. Chapter 22

**To the guest reviewer who has asked what Stefan's profession is – you will find out eventually…**

CAROLINE'S POV:

The next morning, Stefan, Leo and I had been up for a while, and I was just about to serve breakfast. Making my way through to the hallway, knocking on the door of the bedroom Elena was staying in; I waited for a reply…

"Elena?" I questioned, opening the door to poke my head around, finding her bed still made

"Is she coming through?" Stefan asked as I walked back into the kitchen

"She's not there." I informed him "She must've headed out early…"

He glanced at Leo and then back to me, raising an eyebrow. Motioning to the hallway, we made our way out of the room as Leo began to eat his cereal…

"Do you think she came back last night?" I inquired

"I'd like to think your theory's correct, but knowing Elena, I doubt it." he replied

As I was about to reply, a loud bang from outside sounded and Stefan moved to the door, opening it to find Elena stood outside, rifling through her handbag for her keys…

"My saviour!" she proclaimed "Thank you."

"What are you doing?" he questioned as he shut the door behind her

"Coming home." she replied "Not a crime, is it?"

"You didn't think to let us know you were staying out all night?" I asked

"Why should I?" she inquired "I'm a grown woman. I can do what I like."

"You may be a grown woman, but you're a Mom too." Stefan replied "Or did that slip your mind?"

"It did last night…" she admitted "What with Leo saying he wanted to watch a movie with just Caroline."

"I knew that upset you more than you were letting on." I sighed "Why didn't you just say?"

"You should've guessed." she replied

"I did!" I proclaimed "And I asked Leo if you could join us."

"And he said no." she informed me "That hurts, knowing my son only wants to spend time with you."

"Okay, stop…" Stefan sighed "So where did you end up last night? Or can I guess?"

"You can probably guess." she replied

"Where did you end up?" I questioned

"With Damon." she informed me "And it was so great to be able to do anything we wanted without having to worry about Leo…"

"He's just through there," I proclaimed "and he's not deaf. He can probably hear you…"

"Leo!" she shouted, walking through to the kitchen

"Stefan, stop her." I begged

STEFAN'S POV:

"What was wrong with Mommy this morning, Daddy?" Leo asked as I drove him to school a little while later

"She was just happy, bud." I informed him "And I'm sorry she scared you."

"It's okay, if she's happy…" he replied

CAROLINE'S POV:

I was just finishing tidying up the kitchen after breakfast when Elena made her way through having showered, her body clothed in a dressing gown and her hair wrapped up in a towel…

"Anything going spare?" she questioned

"There's some cereal in the cupboard, but I'm going grocery shopping so there's not a lot in. And please clean up after yourself, I've just finished tidying up." I replied

She nodded in understanding and opened the cupboard door, grabbing herself a bowl from the draining board…

"What do you have to say about earlier then?" I asked

"Nothing." she replied

"Seriously?" I questioned

"I'm allowed to have a little bit of fun every once in a while." she informed me

"I know, but it would've been nice if you could've let Stefan and I know you were going to be out all night and stumbling home at 7:30am." I admitted

"Okay, Mom," she proclaimed "next time I'll let you know…"

I sighed heavily and shook my head… "I'm off to the grocery store. Clean up after yourself…"

She mock-saluted me as I pulled my handbag over my shoulder. Shaking my head, I made my way out of the apartment…

STEFAN'S POV:

"She's got no consideration for us at the minute, and it's all out of petty jealousy." Caroline sighed as we sat at an outside table of a café "I wish I'd done something more to help her yesterday."

"This is on her, not you," I replied "so don't be blaming yourself."

"I can't help it," she admitted "I saw she was hurt. I should've told Leo she was joining us."

"Maybe so, but she didn't have to go out and spend the night with Damon, did she?" I questioned "She chose to do that of her own accord. That wasn't your doing."

"What are we going to do?" she inquired

"About?" I asked

"Elena." she replied "If she carries on, we can't let her disrupt Leo and the routine we've got him in."

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it, but hopefully we won't." I informed her

 **Will Stefan and Caroline have to cross that bridge? And what are you making of Elena's antics? Are they really out of jealousy, or is there a bigger problem there too?**


	23. Chapter 23

STEFAN'S POV:

"Daddy…" I heard Leo whisper as he gently shook my arm

"Hey, mate," I greeted him "what're you doing up?"

"I can hear noises outside." he replied "I'm scared."

"What's going on?" Caroline inquired sleepily, turning onto her back

"Leo's gonna join us in bed," I informed her "he can't sleep…"

"Okay." she replied, moving aside to make some space in between us

After making sure Leo was comfortable, I shut my eyes once again, them snapping open as I heard a loud bang. Turning my head, I saw Caroline looking at me…

"What was that, Daddy?" Leo questioned

"I don't know, mate." I admitted "I'll go and find out."

"Be careful." Caroline begged

I nodded my head and climbed out of bed, shooting Caroline a reassuring smile before leaving the bedroom and making my way into the hallway, hearing another bang from outside the apartment door as I flicked on the light. Moving over to the door, I looked out of the peephole to see Elena sat on the floor, her back resting against the wall. Sighing heavily, I unbolted the door and opened it, her head turning to me as I did so…

"Finally!" she proclaimed "I'm bursting for a wee…"

She pushed past me and made her way into the apartment, kicking off her heels and throwing her handbag on the ground as she made her way to the bathroom. Shutting and locking the door behind me again, I walked back through to the bedroom, closing the door behind me as I did so…

"I heard." Caroline informed me as I made my way to the bed

"Can you keep an eye on him while I go talk to her?" I asked

"What are you going to say?" she questioned

I shrugged my shoulders in reply and smiled at her weakly… "I don't know."

"Tell her from me that she needs to sort her life out." she replied, her fingers stroking through Leo's hair as she spoke "She can't keep doing this, not when we've got this little guy to think of."

Pressing my lips against her forehead as I heard the toilet flush, I left the room and walked back out to the hallway, seeing Elena making her way to her room…

"Not so fast," I proclaimed "let's have a coffee, shall we?"

"Can it not wait till morning?" she inquired

"What do you think?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her

Making my way into the kitchen, I switched the light on and flicked the kettle on, Elena sitting herself at the kitchen table a minute or two later…

"What is going on with you?" I questioned

"I don't know what you mean…" she replied

"You know exactly what I mean." I informed her "Getting drunk, staying out till all hours. Leo's in our bed because he heard you banging about and you frightened him. This needs to stop, Elena."

"I'm living my life, Stefan. Something you need to try." she admitted

"I've got responsibilities." I replied "And so have you. It'd do you good to remember that."

"Leo's fine," she sighed "he's got you and Caroline, and let's face it, he doesn't want me."

"This is still about being jealous of his and Caroline's bond?" I questioned "Really?"

"How do you think it feels to be pushed out?" she asked

"I know how it feels, because it's what you and Damon did until I sought advice from my solicitor on how to get access." I informed her "I know it hurts, Elena, but you need to accept the fact that Caroline's a part of Leo's life and get over it. You going out on benders and stumbling home drunk isn't doing anyone any favors."

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan made his way back into the bedroom ten minutes later. Closing the magazine I'd been reading, I set it back on my bedside table and watched him as he climbed back into bed and sighed heavily before turning on his side to face me, me doing the same…

"What did you say to her?" I asked

"I told her that going out on benders and stumbling home drunk isn't doing anyone any favors." he informed me "She's jealous of the bond you and Leo have, and she feels pushed out."

"That's what this is all about?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him "It can't go on, Stefan."

"I know, which is why first thing tomorrow morning I'm calling my lawyer to tell him to do whatever it takes to get Leo's residency order to be with us fast-tracked." he replied "And I'm going to tell Elena that she needs to find a place of her own. Her behavior's not fair on anyone, especially Leo."

"Are you going to tell her that you've been in touch with your lawyer?" I asked

"She has a right to know what our plans are." he informed me "So yes. And with that information, it's up to her what she does, but she's not going to hurt Leo, not anymore."

 **Another drunken binge from Elena, only this time stumbling home in the middle of the night, waking up Leo, Stefan and Caroline in the process. What will happen next, do you think?**


	24. Chapter 24

STEFAN'S POV:

"Hey," Caroline greeted me as she walked into the kitchen as I stifled a yawn "why don't you go back to bed if you're so tired?"

"I've got a meeting with my lawyer in an hour about Elena." I informed her "And it's her fault, anyway."

"What?" she questioned

"You missed an amazing show last night." I admitted "You were dead to the world but Elena was on top form. That's why Leo's in with us again."

"Did she wake him up?" she inquired

I shook my head… "Thankfully not. I put him in with us while she was rooting through the cupboards for some food. After my meeting, I'm gonna sit her down and tell her she has to go."

"Why don't you give her a warning?" she suggested

"Like in a job?" I questioned "Three strikes and you're out? I think she's had more than that and she's blown them all. She's got to go, Caroline. For all of our sakes."

"Are you sure?" she asked

I nodded my head… "I'm gonna go and get in the shower. Are you okay to get Leo to school?"

CAROLINE'S POV:

Leo and I were just about to leave the apartment when Elena made her way out of her bedroom, still dressed in the clothes from the night before. Bending down to zip Leo's coat up, I grabbed my own from the hook…

"Hi," she greeted us "is it that time already?"

"Yep." I replied "And we need to be going…"

"Do I not get to see my son for at least five minutes before he goes to school?" she questioned

"Try getting up on time and then maybe so." I replied "Come on, Leo."

I guided him out of the apartment, shutting the front door behind us as I went, swallowing a lump in my throat as we made our way to the elevator…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Stefan, is that you?" Elena's voice questioned from the kitchen

"Yep." I replied

"Good, because you'll never guess what Caroline did to me this morning…" she proclaimed

"What was that then?" I asked

"She told me I couldn't see my son before he went to school." she informed me

"She did mention that when I spoke to her just now. They would've been late for school if she had given you five minutes with him." I replied

"Given me five minutes with him?" she inquired "He's my son, Stefan!"

"Well it'd do you well to remember that." I informed her "Because you don't seem to give a damn when it's the middle of the night and you're stumbling home drunk, which is why I've been to see my lawyer."

"Right." she replied "And what did that sleazebag have to say for himself?"

"He's pushing through Leo's residency order whatever it takes." I admitted

"What?" she questioned

"You heard me." I replied "And I think it'd be best if you left before Caroline and Leo get back…"

"Leave?" she asked

I nodded my head… "You're disrupting a routine Caroline and I have worked really hard to build for Leo. I gave you a place to stay and you've taken advantage of that and I can't do it anymore, not when Leo's at risk."

"At risk?" she inquired "You think I'd hurt my son?"

"When you're drunk in the middle of the night I don't know what you're capable of," I admitted "I'm protecting my son and my girlfriend, and myself. You have to go, Elena."

"Where am I meant to go?" she questioned

"I don't know," I replied "but I'm willing to give you some money so you can book into a hotel for the night and then start searching for somewhere tomorrow morning. I'm helping you, Elena, you should take it."

"And Leo?" she asked

"He stays here with us," I informed her "me and Caroline."

"What if I say no?" she inquired

"You can try it," I replied "but it won't do you any good. The courts will do a house visit and if they find you haven't got an address, Leo will be placed with us immediately, so I'm giving you a chance to get your life back on track by telling you all this. Don't mess it up."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Something smells good…" I proclaimed as Leo and I made our way into the apartment late that afternoon

"It's my Mom's lasagne recipe," Stefan informed me, pressing his lips against mine as he greeted us in the hallway "it's one of Leo's favourites, isn't it, bud?"

He nodded his head as I looked down at him… "Can I play on the Playstation?"

"Half-an-hour before dinner." Stefan replied as he hurried through to the living room

Making my way through to the kitchen, Stefan following, I picked up the beer he'd organised himself and took a sip as he moved to stand in front of me as I hopped onto the kitchen counter…

"Elena's gone." he informed me

"Did she go easily?" I questioned as I took a sip of his beer

"Relatively." he replied "I've given her some money to book into a hotel tonight, and hopefully she'll use it and not spend it on another night out."

"You do realise you'll never see it again, right?" I inquired

He nodded his head… "I don't care, as long as she puts it to good use. I don't want to cut off her contact with Leo altogether, but she needs to get herself sorted, so hopefully she will."

 **Is Stefan kidding himself, or will Elena really get herself sorted?**


	25. Chapter 25

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Has Mommy gone out again?" Leo asked as he made his way into the kitchen after I'd called him for tea

"No, mate, she hasn't," Stefan replied "she's gone to find herself another place to live."

"Why didn't she take me with her?" he questioned

"Because I said you should stay here with Caroline and me." he informed him "For good…"

"Really?" he asked

"If that's what you want." Stefan replied "Would you like that?"

I smiled widely as he nodded his head excitedly and hurried over to Stefan who had stopped setting the table, winding his arms around him tightly…

"Well I think this calls for ice cream after tea, doesn't it?" I questioned

"Yes!" Leo proclaimed

"As long as you sit nicely and wait at the table till we've finished too." Stefan informed him

"Okay." he replied

STEFAN'S POV:

"Anything from Elena?" Caroline asked as she made her way through to the living room

I shook my head… "I hope she's getting herself sorted, for Leo's sake more than anything."

"And if she's not?" she questioned

"Then she obviously doesn't realise how important Leo is." I admitted "Which is a very sad thing."

"It is," she sighed "and I can see that you're under a lot of stress, which possibly calls for a back rub?"

"Another time." I informed her

"What?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at me

"I want you to relax too." I admitted

"Bull!" she proclaimed "Why can't I give you a back rub? You've never said no before…"

"It'll be the first time we've done anything that intimate since, y'know…" I replied

"And?" she questioned "I think I have enough self-control to not jump your bones."

"It's not that," I sighed "I just don't want you to feel as though you're being pushed into anything, because I can wait, as long as you need."

"I'm fine, honestly," she assured me "and I appreciate you caring about me so much because I'm actually not 100% ready yet, but I really think you could use a back rub…"

"Are you sure?" I questioned

She nodded her head… "Take off your shirt, and I'll go and get the lotion."

CAROLINE'S POV:

I straddled Stefan, placing my legs either side of him. Squeezing a generous amount of lotion into my hand, I set the bottle down and rubbed my hands together, proceeding to rub Stefan's back…

"How does that feel?" I asked

"Amazing." he replied

I smiled as I worked my hands up to his shoulders, massaging each in turn, hearing him groan in response. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I worked across to his neck and then down to his back, trying to ignore the moans and groans that were slipping past his lips…

"Done!" I proclaimed, climbing off of him "I'm gonna go and have a shower."

"Hey, you okay?" he questioned, taking a hold of my wrist as I went to leave the room

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I inquired

"I don't know, you just seem odd…" he replied "Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded my head… "I'm fine. I'm gonna head straight to bed after my shower; helping you relax has tired me out. I'll see you in the morning. Night."

"Do I not get a goodnight kiss?" he asked

Exhaling a breath, I turned and pressed my lips against his, hurrying from the room…

 **Stefan and Caroline talked sex after her miscarriage, and she revealed that she's not 100% ready yet, but giving Stefan a back rub turned her on – who would've thought it?!**


	26. Chapter 26

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Stefan?" I called as I made my way into the apartment after work that evening "Stefan? You home?"

"Shower." I heard him shout back as I shut the door behind me "Won't be long."

"Okay." I replied as I pulled my coat off and hung my handbag up

Making my way through to the kitchen, I opened the fridge and perused through the contents, shutting it behind me. Walking back through to the hallway, I heard the water running and made my way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me…

"Leo's at a friend's house for tea." Stefan informed me

"What time does he need picking up?" I questioned

"7:30pm," he replied "I'll go get him and bring us food on the way back. How does that sound?"

"Lovely." I admitted as I removed my blouse "How was your day?"

"Good. How was yours?" he asked as I unzipped my skirt and kicked off my heels

"Long," I informed him as I pulled open the shower door and stepped in beside him "and stressful. I need this hot water to dissolve all my tension."

"What're you doing?" he inquired

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I questioned "I'm showering…"

"Yeah, but with me." he replied "Are you okay with this?"

"I'm fine." I replied "Now turn around and I'll shampoo your hair."

STEFAN'S POV:

I shut my eyes as Caroline began to rub the shampoo into my hair, her hands working softly but firmly as they moved, my eyes snapping open as I felt her lips against the bare skin of my neck…

"Caroline…" I whispered

"I'm fine." she replied

Letting her continue her trail of kisses, she reached my ear and whispered for me to turn around. Doing so, the water rinsed the shampoo from my hair and I pressed my lips against hers, sighing contentedly against her mouth as she began to reciprocate…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Stefan, stop…" I murmured against his mouth as he began to walk us backwards

Pushing at his chest as he lifted my leg, he stepped backwards and I fell to the shower floor…

"I'm sorry…" he whispered as he grabbed a towel for each of us off the radiator

"It's not your fault." I replied as he wrapped the towel around me

"It is. I didn't want to stop…" he admitted as he stepped out of the shower, holding out a hand to me "I was being selfish."

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline hadn't spoken since we'd entered our bedroom and dressed. Moving to the doorway, I watched as she lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and sighed heavily, running my hands over my face…

"I'm gonna go and pick Leo up." I informed her "Do you still want me to get food on the way back?"

"I'm not that hungry now so I'll just grab something here," she replied "but you can by all means."

Nodding my head in understanding, I smiled at her weakly and left the apartment, shutting the door behind me…

CAROLINE'S POV:

I prised my eyes open and realised I was in bed alone. Glancing at my phone, I saw the time was 11:30pm. Moving from the bed, I made my way through to the living room, seeing Stefan sat on the sofa, wrapped in a duvet, his head resting on a pillow as he watched TV…

"Hey," I greeted him as I made my way in "what're you doing out here?"

"I didn't wanna disturb you, and thought you could do with some time alone." he admitted

"Waking up without you was awful." I informed him as I lifted the duvet and climbed in beside him, snuggling into his chest "Can we just please try and forget about earlier and not put pressure on the situation? When it happens, it'll happen, but we both need time…"

"I think that's a great idea." he replied, pressing his lips against my forehead "And as comfy as this sofa is, it's not made for two people sleeping on it, so how about we go to bed?"

I looked up at him and nodded my head, moving from the sofa and holding my hand out to him, smiling warmly as he took it willingly…

 **Another little blip, but they're not letting it affect them. When do you think Stefan/Caroline will be ready to take that next step?**


	27. Chapter 27

STEFAN'S POV:

"Hi, Martin." I greeted him "Thanks for seeing me so early."

"You're welcome." he replied "Come on through."

Following him in as he made his way into his office, I sat down opposite his desk…

"So, how can I help you?" he inquired

"I'd just like an update on the residency case, if you can give me one." I admitted

"I'm pushing it through as fast as I can." he informed me "And as soon as I get the go ahead, I'm putting a request through for a house and background check on Elena. When all the details from that have come through, the court will make a decision and you'll have your answer."

"And how long do you think that will take?" I questioned "Caroline and I want to be prepared, either way…"

"Two weeks, hopefully." he replied "I've put a fast track on it as I said, but you never know how long these things will take unfortunately."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"How did it go?" I asked Stefan as he made his way back into the apartment

"Martin said it should take up to two weeks, but he also said you never know how long these things can take." he informed me "Where's Leo?"

"Brushing his teeth and then I'm gonna take him to school." I replied "Have you heard from Elena yet?"

He shook his head… "It makes me wonder whether she's blown the money I gave her or not."

"What if she has?" I questioned

"That's her call. Obviously she can't see how important Leo is." he admitted, sighing heavily

Smiling at him weakly, I pressed my lips against his softly as Leo made his way out of the bathroom… "Ready to go, bud?"

He nodded his head… "Dad, can we play soccer after school?"

"Yep." he replied "I'll pick you up and we'll go to the park."

"Great!" he proclaimed "Thanks, Dad. Bye."

Smiling warmly as Leo hurried to the door, I squeezed Stefan's arm and followed, grabbing my car keys as I went…

 **Short chapter I know, but Stefan's got an update on the residency, and hopefully, things will go his and Caroline's way. Fingers crossed…**


	28. Chapter 28

STEFAN'S POV:

It was now almost two weeks later, and every day since my meeting with Martin, I'd been waiting anxiously for a phone call to give us the news, as had Caroline. Picking up my phone from my nightstand as it began to ring, I saw it was Martin, and called Caroline through from the en-suite…

"Answer it…" she proclaimed

"Eager." I replied, smirking at her playfully

"God, yes." she admitted "Answer it, Stefan."

"Martin, hi," I greeted him as I answered the phone, Caroline entwining my free hand with hers "okay, thanks for letting me know. Yeah, that's great. Thanks. Bye."

Caroline swallowed a lump in her throat as I hung up the phone and set it down, looking at me eagerly as I turned to her… "Well?"

"Leo's ours." I informed her "The paperwork and written confirmation will be sent through in due course."

"Really?" she questioned "You're not messing with me, are you?"

"What would you do if I were?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her

"I'd think of a suitable punishment." she replied "But you're being serious, right?"

I nodded my head… "Leo's officially ours. Elena's pissed away the money I gave her and hasn't got a permanent address, so that's all the court needed to hear. He's staying here, Caroline."

Smiling at me widely, she threw herself into my arms, sending my body flying back into the newly made bed, her lips pressing against mine…

"We need to celebrate!" she proclaimed "We need to throw a party. I need to meet your parents."

"Steady on." I replied "I don't think we're ready for that step yet."

"Please…" she sighed, shaking her head as she moved from the bed, pulling me with her to remake the bed "I'll arrange everything, and then we need to something just you, me and Leo."

"Do I have any say in this?" I questioned

She shook her head as she tidied up the pillows and turned to me… "Nope."

"Didn't think so." I admitted "Okay. I'm gonna head off, and I'll drop Leo at school on the way."

"Are you gonna tell him?" she asked

"We'll do it together," I informed her "tonight. We'll get pizza, sit him down and tell him, and then have a celebratory night of movies and junk food before the party."

"Okay." she replied, smiling at me warmly "Have a good day."

"You too." I proclaimed as I made my way out of the room

CAROLINE'S POV:

I was making my way back to put the trolley back after shopping at the grocery store when a hand grabbed my arm. Turning my head, I saw it was Elena…

"Elena? What are you doing?" I asked

"You think you can just take my son and get away with it?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at me

"I've not taken your son." I informed her "You've given up on him!"

"No I haven't!" she proclaimed "Don't say that!"

"What would you say you've done then?" I inquired "You left him with us, and by the look of you, I'm guessing you've thrown away the money Stefan gave you to help you get sorted. Why are you so adamant that you don't need any help?"

"Because I don't." she informed me "I can look after myself."

"And Leo?" I questioned "Because you've proved you can't look after him and yourself."

"We were doing just fine before you came into the picture and started poking your nose where it wasn't wanted." she admitted "The three of us were happy."

"You, Leo and Stefan? Or you, Leo and Damon?" I asked

"You think you're so much better than me, don't you?" she inquired "Well you're not…"

"I am, Elena." I replied "I'm not saying that to be nasty but it's obvious you don't care at all about your son."

"What did you just say?" she questioned

"You haven't asked how he is." I informed her "If you were a good mother, that would've been the first question to pass your lips."

Gasping as her fist connected with my face, I clutched it as the pain started to sore, and watched as she hurried off…

STEFAN'S POV:

"We're home." I called into the house as Leo and I returned that afternoon "Caroline?"

"Where is she?" Leo asked as he pulled off his coat

"Don't know, mate," I replied "why don't you go and get changed out of your uniform?"

Nodding his head, he made his way down the hallway and I hung up his coat, following suit and heading into mine and Caroline's bedroom…

"Caroline?" I questioned as I walked in "I know you're around here somewhere, as your car's in the car park. Where are you?"

"Hey." she greeted me as she walked out of the en-suite bathroom

"Hey…" I mirrored "What happened to your face?"

I watched as she swallowed a lump in her throat… "Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me," I replied "what happened?"

"I was texting Mom and walked into the door." she informed me "Silly me…"

"You're lying." I admitted "Why are you lying?"

CAROLINE'S POV:

" _You're lying. Why are you lying?"_

"I don't want to tell you what really happened…" I informed him

"Why not?" he questioned

"Because you're gonna overreact when it's not that big of a deal." I admitted "I deserved it."

"Deserved what, Caroline?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at me

"Elena hitting me." I informed him

"What?" he asked "When did this happen?"

"Today, at the grocery store." I replied "We had a bit of a heated discussion and she got violent."

"Have you rang the police?" he questioned

"There's no need for that. I'm fine." I assured him

"There's every need." he proclaimed "She's Leo's Mom and she assaulted you."

"She didn't assault me, Stefan…" I sighed

"What would you call it then?" he asked "You've got a bruise the size of an apple on your cheek and your eye's blackening. What are you going to say to Leo?"

"I'm gonna tell him that I walked into a door." I informed him "Please, Stefan, just drop it…"

"How do you expect me to drop it?" he inquired "I love you, Caroline. The thought of someone hurting you devastates me."

"And I love you," I admitted, entwining his hands with mine "but we don't need to make a big deal out of this. We can't, for Leo's sake. He needs stability and a quiet family life, and that's what we're gonna give him. You and me."

"You're sure you're okay?" he questioned

I nodded my head… "I've iced it, and I was in there trying to cover it up but it wasn't working so I gave it up as a bad job."

He smiled at me weakly and pressed his lips against my forehead... "I have a surprise for you."

"Ooh, what is it?" I asked

"You'll have to wait just a little bit longer." he informed me

"How long?" I questioned

"Till Leo's gone to bed." he replied "Do you think you can wait?"

"No…" I admitted "But I will. I love you."

"I love you too." he mirrored, pressing his lips against mine

 **Ooh, Caroline had a meet with Elena – do you think she deserved what Elena did though? And how sweet is Stefan? And how will Leo react when Stefan/Caroline tell him the news?**


	29. Chapter 29

STEFAN'S POV:

"Pizza!" Leo proclaimed as the apartment buzzer rang "Pizza!"

"You stay here and help Caroline finish getting sorted, and I'll go." I informed him

Making my way out of the kitchen, I buzzed the person into the building and opened the apartment door, seeing Martin make his way up…

"Moonlighting as a pizza boy, are you?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him

"Saved the guy a job." he replied "I paid him too. You owe me $30."

Pulling my wallet out, I handed him the money and he handed me the pizza boxes… "Did you find out what I asked?"

He nodded his head… "The information you need is in that envelope."

"Thank you." I replied

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan walked back into the kitchen a few minutes later, pizza boxes in hand. Taking them from him, I began to serve up, leaning back against him as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind…

"Hi." he greeted me

"Hi." I mirrored "You seem chirpier than you did earlier…"

"I am." he admitted "How's your face?"

"It's sore, but I'll live. Nothing I can't handle." I replied, turning my head to press my lips against his cheek "Right, food…"

"Yes!" Leo proclaimed as he moved to the table

Setting his plate down in front of him, I turned and Stefan handed me mine, both of us taking a seat at the table with Leo too…

"Leo, can I ask you something?" Stefan questioned after a few minutes of comfortable silence

"What?" he asked as he continued to eat

"What would you say if I told you that you were staying here permanently?" he inquired

"Like forever?" Leo questioned

Stefan nodded… "What would you say?"

"Great." he replied "I love it here…"

I smiled warmly as he spoke… "So you're happy?"

He nodded his head… "Can I have some ice cream please?"

I laughed and nodded my head and watched as he moved from the chair he'd been sat on to the freezer, pulling the tub of ice cream from the drawer…

"He's happy." I sighed, turning to Stefan and entwining my hand with his "You're happy. I'm happy, so can I have my surprise now?"

"I knew you hadn't forgotten about that…" he admitted, smiling at me warmly

"Well, can I?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him

"It's on your nightstand." he informed me

Pressing my lips against his cheek, I made my way out of the room and into our bedroom, finding an envelope with my name on it. Picking it up, I opened it and pulled out two plane tickets to New York…

"Stefan?" I called

"Yep?" he questioned from behind me

"Are you serious?" I inquired, turning to find him stood in the doorway

He nodded his head… "I remember you saying it had always been your dream to go, so I thought we could make it our own celebration what with winning residency."

"If we're celebrating, shouldn't we be doing that with Leo too?" I asked "There's only two tickets here…"

"We'll celebrate with Leo," he informed me "we'll do something with him one day before we go, and have the party, and then you and me will fly to New York for the weekend."

"I'm not dreaming, am I?" I questioned

He shook his head and smiled at me warmly… "You're not dreaming."

"I can't believe it," I admitted "I'm going to New York!"

Smiling at me warmly, I moved over to him and threw my arms around his neck… "Thank you."

"You're welcome." he replied "Now I need to pop out, as there's a problem at the office."

"So late?" I asked

"Afraid so," he admitted "but I won't be long. Are you okay to put Leo to bed?"

I nodded my head and pressed my lips against his… "Thank you."

"You're welcome." he replied

STEFAN'S POV:

I pulled up outside the homeless shelter, not being able to believe that this was Elena's last known address. Climbing out of my car, I locked it behind me and made my way to the door, pulling it open and making my way inside…

"Stefan…" Elena's voice spoke as I walked down the corridor "What are you doing here?"

I turned to face her and sighed, running my hands over my face as I took in her appearance… "What has happened to you?"

"I'm fine." she replied

"You can't be serious." I proclaimed "You're a state!"

"Be blunt, why don't you?" she sighed

"How do you expect me to be when I find out you punched my girlfriend?" I asked

"It's all about her, isn't it?" she questioned "Once, it was all about me…"

"And it still could be, but you chose to sleep with my brother." I informed her "You've got no one to blame but yourself for me ending things."

"Don't you think we could get things back to the way they were?" she inquired "Because I've been thinking about it and I do. All we need to do is get out of here and start afresh – you, me and Leo."

"Not gonna happen." I replied "I know you know about the residency and Leo now being with me and Caroline permanently, which is why you punched her. I don't want anything to do with you, Elena."

"Do you not care about me anymore?" she questioned

"Part of me does," I admitted "but ultimately, no, I don't, especially after everything you've done and I'm here to tell you, until you get yourself sorted, if you do, that is, I want you to stay away. Leo's got Caroline and me, and until you're ready to be a Mom again, I don't want to hear from you."

"Are you serious?" she asked

"Deadly." I informed her "And you're lucky I don't call the police for what you did to Caroline, but she's told me not to so I'm respecting her wishes and doing as she asks, not that I should, because you deserve to be punished. Just sort yourself out, Elena, please…"

 **Stefan went to see Elena to confront her about why she punched Caroline, and told her that he doesn't want to hear anything from her until she gets sorted – do you think she will? And what about Leo? How adorable is he?**


	30. Chapter 30

CAROLINE'S POV:

"After everything that's happened, it feels a bit surreal that I'm only just meeting your parents," I admitted to Stefan as we finished getting organised for the party "what are they going to think of me? They're gonna think I'm some sort of scarlet woman."

"Don't talk stupid," he proclaimed "they're gonna love, just like Leo and I do."

"You think?" I questioned

He nodded his head… "And if they don't, they'll have me to answer to."

"Very cave man." I replied, smirking at him as I set the last plate of food down

"It's called being protective." he informed me

"But what are they gonna think when they see this?" I asked, motioning to the bruise on my face "They're gonna wonder who's helping to raise their grandson."

"I'll explain to them in private when I go and pick them up." he assured me "They'll know what happened, but no more than that. And I should be getting off to get them. Mom's a stickler for bad time keeping, so that's something you'll have in common."

I smiled at him warmly… "Drive safe, and I'll see you soon."

Nodding his head in agreement, he pressed his lips against mine and left the apartment…

STEFAN'S POV:

"I'm so happy this day has finally come!" Mom proclaimed as we began the drive "I've always said that Leo should be with you, and I'm very much looking forward to meeting the lady who, as you say, has changed your lives."

"You'll love her." I informed them "But when you see her, you're gonna be a bit concerned as she has a bruise on her face."

"A bruise?" Mom questioned "How did she do that?"

"She was attacked by Elena yesterday." I replied "In the grocery store car park. She's worried what you're going to think, so please don't ask questions about it. She just wants to forget it happened."

"That is one very messed up young lady." Mom sighed "Right, Giuseppe?"

"Right." he mirrored "So, Stefan, tell me, how are things between you and Damon?"

"Don't start, Dad," I begged "today's about celebrating and happiness, and I don't want to talk about the brother who stabbed me in the back the first opportunity he got."

"Have you never heard the saying blood's thicker than water?" he asked

"And what's that meant to mean?" I inquired

"Boys, please." Mom begged "Not today…"

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Grandma and Grandad are here!" Leo proclaimed "Can I go and meet them?"

"You can wait at the door," I informed him "and then open it for them, but I don't want you stepping foot outside unsupervised. Got it?"

"Got it." he replied

I stood in the kitchen and heard Stefan's voice a few minutes later. Finishing the glass of wine I'd poured myself, I made my way through to the hallway…

"Mom, Dad, this is Caroline." Stefan informed his parents as he hung up their coats "Caroline, this is my Mom Lily, and my Dad, Giuseppe."

"It's lovely to meet you both." I greeted them "Welcome to our home."

"Our home?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at me

"Mom…" Stefan sighed "Caroline contributes to the place as do I. It's as much hers as it is mine."

"Grandma, Grandad, can I show you my room?" Leo asked "Caroline decorated it for me…"

STEFAN'S POV:

Leo led Mom and Dad down the hallway and I moved over to Caroline, dropping my forehead to hers as I wrapped my arms around her waist… "Ignore Mom."

"Is she always one for the sly digs?" she asked

I nodded my head… "You've only had one so far, so count yourself lucky."

"Why?" she inquired

"Because the first time she met Elena, by this point, she'd made about ten." I replied

She smiled at me weakly and exhaled a breath… "She's not gonna like me."

"She will, once she gets to know you." I assured her, pressing my lips against her forehead

CAROLINE'S POV:

The party was now in full swing, and I stopped mid-sentence as I heard Leo begin to cry. Hurrying over to him, I saw Lily by his side…

"What happened?" I questioned worriedly, crouching down at his other side

"He slipped and banged his head." she informed me "I'm taking care of it though."

"Caroline…" he sobbed

"It's okay, mate," I replied "I'll go and grab an icepack."

"No!" he proclaimed, taking a hold of my hand as I went to stand

"I'll go and get it." Lily informed me, rising to her feet

Pulling Leo into me, I inspected his forehead and sighed heavily, brushing my lips against his hair… "What have I told you about wearing something on your feet in the house? Especially on this floor?"

"Is he okay?" Lily inquired, handing me the icepack she'd wrapped in a towel

"He'll be fine." I assured her "He's just not wearing shoes, even though I've told him hundreds of times to do so."

"Takes after his Dad then," she admitted "because he never listened to a word I had to say."

I smiled at her weakly and placed the icepack to Leo's head, letting him curl into my body as I rested myself against the sofa…

"Can I get you a drink?" Lily asked

"I've got an orange juice on the table." I informed her "Thank you."

She smiled at me warmly and returned with it a minute later, sitting down by my side… "So, what do you do for a living, Caroline?"

"I'm an elementary school teacher." I replied

"Hence why you're so good with kids." she informed me

"I love kids," I admitted "especially this little boy here."

"I can see that." she replied "And he quite obviously adores you."

"Stefan always tells me he does." I informed her

STEFAN'S POV:

"Daddy…" Leo spoke as I put him to bed that night

"Yes, mate?" I questioned as I sat down on the edge of his bed

"Would Caroline be okay with it if I started to call her Mommy?" he asked

"Is that something you want to do?" I inquired

He nodded his head… "She is my Mommy. She looks after me, she cooks for me, she cleans for me and she makes me laugh and smile. I love her, but what about my real Mommy?"

"Your real Mommy knows you love her." I informed him "Even if you start to Caroline Mommy too."

"Yeah?" he asked

I nodded my head… "How about, in the morning, we make Caroline a special breakfast and you can ask her what she thinks to you calling her Mommy then?"

"Okay!" he replied

"Then you'd better be getting some sleep." I informed him "Sleep tight, bud."

"Night, Daddy…" he whispered

"Night, mate." I mirrored, switching on his night light, shutting the door behind me

 **What did you guys think to this chapter? And what about Leo wanting to start calling Caroline Mum?**


	31. Chapter 31

STEFAN'S POV:

"What if Caroline says no to me calling her Mommy?" Leo asked the next morning as we prepared her breakfast

"What makes you think she'll say no?" I questioned

"Because I already have a Mommy. But she left me." he replied

"I don't think Caroline will say no to you calling her Mommy." I informed him "She loves you, and already feels as though she's your Mom, bud. I don't think you need to worry."

"Promise?" he asked

"Promise." I mirrored

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Caroline!" Leo's voice proclaimed, making me sit up abruptly the next morning

"What's the matter?" I asked worriedly as I began to move from the bed

"Nothing," he replied "we made you breakfast."

I smiled warmly at him and Stefan… "You boys do spoil me."

"You're worth it." Stefan informed me as he set the tray down on my lap

"So what is all this in aid of then?" I questioned as Stefan and Leo joined me back in bed "Stefan?"

"Leo's got something he wants to ask you." he replied "Leo?"

"What is it, mate?" I asked

"Can I start calling you Mommy?" he inquired

I looked from him to Stefan, and swallowed a lump in my throat, Stefan smiling at me warmly… "If that's what you want. Is it?"

He nodded his head… "My other Mommy's left me, and you do everything a Mommy should do…"

"Well I would love it if you called me Mommy," I informed him "but I don't want you to feel any pressure to."

"I don't… Mommy…" he replied "I love you, Mommy."

I smiled warmly as he spoke… "I love you too."

STEFAN'S POV:

"You've been quiet ever since breakfast," I admitted as Caroline and I washed and dried the pots "are you okay? Has Leo asking to call you Mom freaked you out?"

"It's just a bit weird," she informed me "I can't help but wonder what Elena would think."

"She's not here, is she?" I questioned "So you don't need to wonder. She left him, and Leo now considers you to be his Mommy."

"Really?" she asked

I nodded my head… "It was his idea to start calling you it, and he asked me what I thought you'd think. I didn't say anything to him."

"He really wants to call me Mommy?" she inquired

"Yep." I replied

 **Leo's calling Caroline Mommy, how sweet?!**


	32. Chapter 32

CAROLINE'S POV:

"I still think we should take Leo with us…" I admitted as I packed mine and Stefan's suitcases ready for our weekend away the next day "Do you think it's too late to call the airline and add another person?"

"Yes I do." he informed me "And besides, he's looking forward to spending some time with his Grandma and Grandad. They're taking him to this kid's theme park he's been raving on about and they're surprising him by staying overnight, so why would he want to come to New York and sightsee with us?"

"I just feel bad leaving him here," I replied "given everything…"

"He'll be absolutely fine." Stefan assured me "His Grandma and Grandad will take really good care of him and he'll have a blast. He won't even miss us!"

"I hope he misses us a bit…" I informed him "That way we'll get to speak to him on the phone."

"Who's the adult?" he questioned "You, or Leo?"

"Do you want me to carry on packing your stuff for you?" I inquired

"Yes please." he replied

"Then keep your sarcastic comments to yourself." I informed him "Okay?"

"Yes, boss." he proclaimed, mock saluting me "I'm gonna go and see how Leo's getting on with his "packing"…

"Can you make sure he's not just packed toys please?" I asked as he headed out of the bedroom

"On it." he informed me

STEFAN'S POV:

"So," I proclaimed as I walked into the kitchen as Leo was eating his lunch "we've got two choices – we can either go to the cinema, or we can go to the outdoor pool. What do you want to do?"

"Outdoor pool. Outdoor pool." he replied

"Outdoor pool it is." I informed him

"I'll go and get our things together." Caroline admitted

Smiling at her warmly, I pulled her to me as she went to walk past me… "I'm looking forward to seeing you in a bikini."

CAROLINE'S POV:

I swallowed a lump in my throat as the atmosphere between Stefan and I heightened. Pressing his lips against my cheek, he released his hold on me and I walked out of the room, making my way into our bedroom. Moving to my underwear drawer, I pulled out my bikini – a white top and bottoms, with black detailing. Packing it into a bag, along with Stefan's shorts and Leo's shorts and armbands, I made my way back out to the kitchen, setting the bag by the door…

STEFAN'S POV:

Leo and I had made our way to the pool to wait for Caroline and as I span Leo around in one of the inflatable rings, I swallowed a lump in my throat as Caroline made her way out of the changing rooms and over to the pool…

"Mommy looks pretty, doesn't she, Daddy?" Leo asked

"Yeah, she does." I replied, watching as she stepped into the water and swam over to us

"Hey." she greeted us "Hope you two didn't have too much fun without me?"

I shook my head… "You look great. Are you okay?"

She nodded her head… "I love you."

"I love you too." I mirrored

CAROLINE'S POV:

I sat on the edge of the pool, my feet dipping in the water as I watched Stefan with Leo, my heart bursting with pride as they played and laughed together, Stefan's toned and muscular body torso on show…

"How cute!" an unfamiliar female voice from behind me proclaimed

"I know." I replied

"Yours?" she questioned

I nodded my head, smiling warmly as I turned back to them…

"You're one very lucky lady." she informed me

"Thank you." I replied

Watching as Stefan reappeared from under the water, shaking his head to remove the excess water as he did so, I felt myself grow hotter as his head turned and he looked at me, a warm smile on his face…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Leo's zonked." I informed Caroline as I walked into the living room

"Good." she replied "I'm gonna go for a bath, I'm pretty tired too…"

"So am I, actually." I admitted "I think I'm just gonna head to bed."

Watching her as she stood up and moved to leave the room, I called her name, her body stopping before turning to me…

"What?" she questioned

"Are you okay?" I asked

"I'm fine." she replied "Just tired. I'll see you when I come to bed."

I nodded my head in agreement and she smiled at me weakly before leaving the room…

 **I wonder why Caroline hasn't told Stefan how she felt when she saw him with Leo at the pool. And what about the way Stefan felt when he saw Caroline? Can't be long before they're ready to take the next step again, can it? I wonder…**


	33. Chapter 33

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and I arrived in New York, and after we'd got our bags from baggage claim, he hailed a cab, informing the driver of our destination…

"What did you just say?" I questioned as he sat back in his seat

"What?" he asked

"Did you really just say The Plaza Hotel?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at him

"What would you say if I did?" he questioned

"Slap you…" I admitted "What the hell, Stefan?"

"I want to make this trip as special and as memorable as I can for you, and for me too," he informed me "so if that means booking a fancy and expensive hotel for us then so be it."

"Just being here with you is special enough for me." I admitted, sighing heavily "Thank you."

"And you couldn't have told me that before I went and booked it?" he asked

"That's what you get when you keep secrets from your loving girlfriend." I informed him

"Lesson learnt." he replied, smiling at me warmly

STEFAN'S POV:

"This room is insane!" Caroline proclaimed as the concierge left "And the view. And look at the size of this bath. It's big enough to fit four, let alone two…"

"Two?" I questioned

"That was me subtly saying I'd be okay with you joining me." she admitted, smiling at me warmly

"Good to know." I replied "So, I take it you're happy?"

"I'm happy." she informed me

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and I were walking back to the hotel after dinner, my body pressed against his as I huddled under his arm, shielding myself from the cold. The evening so far had been perfect, and I couldn't wait for what was to come…

STEFAN'S POV:

As we reached the hotel lobby and stepped into the elevator, Caroline's lips were on mine, taking me by surprise, her body pushing closer to mine as she gripped onto the collar of my jacket. The elevator dinged, signalling that we'd reached our floor and she took my hand in hers, leading me down the corridor to our room. As we reached our door, she turned and pressed her lips against mine again, a laugh escaping her lips as she pulled away and opened the door, both of us heading inside…

The second the door was closed, she bit her lip and I couldn't help but think how sexy she looked – beautiful, even. She pushed me by the shoulders to the door and kissed me again, her hands making fast work of pushing my coat off of my body as one of my hands reached for her waist, pulling her flush against me, my free hand working it's way to her cheek, my fingers tangling in her hair. Groaning as she pulled away, she smiled warmly as her hands began to roam over my shirt clad chest, my eyes working over her body. She was dressed in a pale pink dress that cut off the knee and hugged her curves.

Her fingers swiftly unbuttoned my shirt and her hands pressed against my bare chest, my eyes closing at her touch. Feeling her push it from my body, I opened my eyes, her hands taking a hold of mine…

"Caroline, what are you doing?" I asked as she walked us into the bedroom

"We're celebrating." she informed me "And what better way to celebrate than making use of a sound proof room with an amazing four-poster bed?"

"We already celebrated." I replied

"Mine's not the kind of celebration you're thinking about." she admitted

"Oh?" I questioned

CAROLINE'S POV:

"That's what I intend to be saying in a little while…" I informed him, taking his hands in mine again, pulling him to me and then pushing him onto the bed, moving to straddle his lap, ensuring that he could see the underwear I had on underneath my dress as I did so

He groaned, signalling that he'd seen and I smiled, watching as his hands made their way to my hips…

"Ah, ah, look, but no touch. Not yet." I proclaimed

"Really?" he asked as I climbed off his lap

I nodded my head and reached behind me, turning away from him as I did so, pulling the zipper of my dress down as slowly as I could… "You've had me on a knife's edge for days. Ever since we took our little man swimming and you wore those stupidly tight swim shorts."

"Did you get a bit hot under the collar?" he inquired

"I did." I admitted "You were so protective of Leo and seeing you look after him; it was hot. And today, well, seeing you in the shower and then wearing that God damn shirt – you know how much I love you in blue. It does something to me."

"Holy fuck!" he proclaimed as I let my dress fall to the floor and pool around my feet "Do you have any idea how sexy you look right now? I know we need to take this slow, but you have no idea how hard I'm finding it right now to grab you and show you how much I love you…"

STEFAN'S POV:

I watched as Caroline slowly walked towards me, crawling back onto the bed and hovering over me, her lips pressing against mine softly, pulling away as I went to deepen the kiss, her lips brushing against my cheek before coming back to my lips, her allowing me to deepen the kiss…

"I want you to show me." she whispered against my lips "I'm ready."

Groaning as her hands moved to my belt buckle, her fingers brushing against my hard length as she did so, she pulled it from the loops and to the floor, unbuttoning and unzipping my jeans before pulling them from my body too. Moving back over me, she stroked her finger down the middle of my chest, my hips bucking in appreciation as she brushed the fabric of my boxers, her head lowering as she began to press kisses to my skin…

"This is exactly what I call celebrating. It's what I wanted." I admitted

"You wanted me to strip and have sex with you in our hotel?" she asked, her head lifting as she spoke. As I was about to reply I was stopped, a moan slipping from my lips as she slipped her hand inside my boxers, pulling them down with her free hand as she did so

"That, and much more." I informed her, watching as she reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a packet of condoms "Caroline Forbes, did you plan this?"

"I plan a lot of things." she replied "It wasn't that hard to plan. What a girl wants, she'll get. And I know how much you love having sex with me. I mean, after all, we started out as a one night stand."

"You have no idea how much I love you right now." I admitted

"I have a very good idea." she informed me as she lifted her hips and raised onto her knees "Shall we?"

Smirking at her, I let my hands move to her panties, teasing at the waistband, raising an eyebrow at her as the material fell away in my hands… "What the?"

"They have Velcro." she explained "It's much easier to deal with, saves money when you tear them ripping them from my body, and I wanted to save us some time too."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Wait…" Stefan proclaimed

"What?" I questioned

He took hold of the hand that held the condom and took it from me… "I want it to just be us tonight."

I swallowed a lump in my throat and looked from him to the condom… "Just us."

Pushing some hair from my face, he brushed his lips against mine, his length sliding against my folds, my moan slipping into his mouth…

 **Thank you to the amazing Poppy for this chapter (all I've done is edited a little). Enjoy!**


	34. Chapter 34

CAROLINE'S POV:

I was woken up to the feeling of Stefan's lips pressing against my neck and bare shoulder, and as I came to, I tipped my head back to give him better access, sighing contentedly as his lips pressed against my pulse point, my body shuddering with pleasure…

"Morning." he greeted me

"Morning." I mirrored "Last night was…"

"Amazing." he replied "And I think we should continue…"

"And waste a day in this amazing city?" I questioned "Not a chance!"

"I can make it worth your while," he informed me "and you know I can."

"Don't you think we should at least eat first?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him

"Well you see, my hunger's not for food," he admitted "not when you're laid next to me naked."

"Really?" I inquired, biting down on my bottom lip softly

"Really." he replied, his lips capturing mine "But if you insist, I'll order room service."

"I do insist." I informed him

STEFAN'S POV:

After ordering room service, I set the phone down and Caroline's arms wrapped around my waist from behind, her lips pressing against the skin of my back and shoulder as her bare chest pressed against my back, her hands sliding down my chest as she pulled me back with her. Turning as we moved, I hovered over her and brought the sheets over us, capturing her lips in mine…

CAROLINE'S POV:

I was on the edge, Stefan's hands entwined with mine above my head, him sliding in and out of me, my legs wrapped around his waist and my feet pressed against his lower back, my orgasm on the cusp…

"You've got to be kidding me!" I proclaimed as a knock at the door sounded

"I thought you were hungry for food?" Stefan asked as he slipped out of me

"I was, but my hunger's not for food anymore." I admitted, sighing heavily

"Well if you'd have listened to me and not insisted on ordering food, we wouldn't be in this position right now." he replied

I covered myself with one of the sheets he'd discarded as he moved… "You better make it up to me, Salvatore."

He turned to me as he stood and pressed his lips against mine, his tongue pushing between my lips before he pulled away from me… "You know I will."

I watched as he stretched his hands above his head, his bare back and bum on display. Biting my bottom lip, I threw a cushion at him, seeing him turn to me…

"What was that for?" he asked

"Put some clothes on before I tell you to screw the food and screw me instead." I replied

He smirked at me as he pulled a pair of tracksuit bottoms on… "Later, baby, I promise."

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline and I were finally planning on leaving the room but as I sat in the living room of our hotel room, waiting for her to finish showering, I couldn't resist. Standing from the sofa, I walked through our bedroom and into the bathroom, quickly stripping myself of my clothes and opened the cubicle door, her body turning to me as I did so…

"What are you doing?" she asked

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I questioned

"I'm almost done." she replied

"I don't think you are…" I admitted "Because don't you remember that earlier I made a promise to you?"

I pulled away from pressing my lips against her cheek and saw her bite her lip and nod her head, my hand running down her body to cup her mound… "What was that promise?"

"You promised to..." she began "Oh God!"

"What was that?" I inquired

"You promised to…" she replied, my finger curling to press against her G-spot "You promised to…"

"To what, Caroline?" I asked, beginning to work my finger slowly in and out of her "I promised to what?"

"Screw me." she proclaimed, pulling my face to hers, smashing her lips against mine

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and I laid on the bed, both of us wrapped in the dressing gowns that had been part of our welcome package and I sighed heavily as I stared out of the window, evening beginning to set…

"What's up?" he asked

"We've wasted a day in this amazing city." I sighed

"I wouldn't call it a waste…" he admitted, pressing his lips against the skin of my neck "And there's still plenty of sightseeing we can do, even if the sun is setting."

"Such as?" I questioned

"We can go to Times Square and Rockefeller Center, if you think you can tear yourself away from me and this bed for a couple of hours." he replied

"I think I'll manage." I informed him as I sat up and moved, making my way over to the wardrobe to pull some clothes on "It's you that needs to be asking yourself that question."

STEFAN'S POV:

I swallowed a lump in my throat as Caroline dropped her robe, revealing her naked body. Moving from the bed, it took all of my might to not grab her and have her up against the wall and made my way to the wardrobe too, making sure to push my body against her as I searched for something to wear…

"You want to play it that way, do you?" she asked

"What way?" I questioned as I pulled away having grabbed some jeans and a jumper

"We're teasing each other, are we?" she inquired

"I don't know, are we?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her

Smiling at me warmly, she nodded her head… "I guess we are."

 **The game is on, but who will win do you think? And what's to come for the rest of Stefan and Caroline's New York trip?**


	35. Chapter 35

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and I had finally left the hotel, and had made our way to a restaurant not far from the hotel. After being seated for a while, having perused the menu, I slipped my shoe off and slid my foot up Stefan's leg…

"What are you doing?" he asked

"Nothing." I replied

As he was about to reply, a waiter made his way over to us… "Can I take your order? Sir?"

Stefan recited his order and I continued to run my foot up and down his leg…

"And for you, Madam?" the waiter questioned

"Well I'm guessing you're off the table so I'll have the pasta please." I informed him

Smiling as Stefan coughed as he took a sip of his water, some of the contents spilling onto his shirt, the waiter nodded and walked away. Letting my hand reach out, I pressed my hand flat against his crotch, his hand covering mine…

"Now what are you doing?" he asked

"Having a bit of fun." I informed him as I began to rub my hand over his jeans

"Two can play at that game then." he admitted, his own hand sliding from where it had covered mine onto my knee, trailing upwards to my thigh and under my skirt

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline and I made our way back to the hotel room and I opened the door, allowing her to enter first. Shutting and locking it behind me, I pulled off my coat and made my way into the bedroom…

"I thought we were going to watch a film?" Caroline asked

"I've changed my mind," I admitted "I need a shower..."

"Are you hoping for a repeat of what happened before we left?" she questioned

I shook my head… "I'm locking the door."

"Why?" she inquired

"Why do you think?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her

CAROLINE'S POV:

I watched as Stefan walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Hearing the door lock, I sighed and removed my coat, flopping down onto the sofa. Smiling to myself as an idea came to mind, I made my way through to the bedroom and pulled off my clothing, laying down on the bed in just my underwear…

STEFAN'S POV:

I walked out of the bathroom fifteen or so minutes later, swallowing a lump in my throat as I saw Caroline laid out on the bed, reading a magazine in just her underwear…

"Hey." she greeted me "Nice shower?"

I nodded my head… "I think we're going to have to invest in one of those back at the apartment."

"Okay." she replied

"What is all this then?" I asked, motioning to her underwear clad body

"It's an apology," she informed me "for being so cruel and leaving you hanging at dinner. I've decided to let you do what you like. You can punish me, you can tease or you can just have me. It's your choice and I'm all yours."

Smiling at her warmly, I removed my towel and moved onto the bed, throwing the magazine to the floor. Pressing my lips against hers, I allowed my length to push against her panty clad mound and she gasped…

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan's mouth was now on my bare mound, and his hand was pressed against my stomach as I tried relentlessly to push my hips against him as the pleasure took over. Clutching onto the bedsheets at the side of me, I tipped my head back and moaned loudly as my orgasm hit, Stefan's mouth working me through it, continuing to set my already tingling body on fire…

"I think that's enough for tonight…" he admitted

"What?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him as he moved up my body

"I'm done in." he informed me "And we're gonna have a busy last day tomorrow before we head home tomorrow night, so we need to rest."

"Are you serious?" I asked

He nodded his head… "You told me I could punish you, tease you or just have you. I've teased you, and now I'm punishing you. Night."

Staring at him as he pressed his lips against mine and then moved onto his side of the bed, turning on his side to switch the nightstand light off and laid down, I continued to stare, gasping as I felt his hand slide between my legs once again…

"You were teasing, weren't you?" I inquired

"Yep." he replied, pulling me on top of him

 **Did you really think Stefan was going to leave Caroline hanging? And what do you think they have in store for their last day in New York before heading home?**


	36. Chapter 36

STEFAN'S POV:

"Mommy, Daddy, you're back!" Leo proclaimed as Caroline and I entered my parents house "Did you bring me any presents?"

"Cheeky…" I replied, tickling his sides as I set him down on the ground "We did, but our bags are in the car so you're gonna have to wait till we get back home."

"Okay. I missed you." he admitted

"We missed you too, bud." Caroline informed him "So much. Have you been a good boy for your Grandma and Grandad?"

"He's been no trouble at all," Mom replied as she made her way through to the hallway "good as gold."

"Thanks for having him." I admitted as I greeted her, hugging her tightly "As a thank you, why don't you and Dad come over for tea tomorrow night?"

"That'd be lovely." she informed me "We'll be there."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"How is he?" I asked Stefan as he walked into the kitchen where I was unpacking our bags and sorting out the washing that needed to be done

"Happy as can be." he informed me "He's extremely happy that we managed to take a trip to The Lego Store."

I smiled warmly as he spoke… "I knew he would be, and I've been thinking that we should move forward with our plans."

"What plans would they be then?" he questioned

"The plans for me to become Leo's official guardian. I want to adopt him, Stefan." I admitted "So I think we should call Martin and ask him to draw up the paperwork and do whatever's needed to make it happen. He needs a Mom, and I'm more than willing to take on the role seeing as though Elena's not."

"How can she not be interested in her own son?" he asked, sighing heavily as he spoke "Does she not see how amazing he is?"

"Obviously not." I replied, placing my hand on his shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly as I did so "Now can I trust you to finish off this washing while I head to the grocery store? We've got absolutely nothing in…"

He nodded his head and I smiled at him warmly and kissed him softly…

"I won't be long." I informed him

 **Short chapter, but only a filler, really. Caroline wants to press forward with hers and Stefan's plans to adopt Leo. If Elena can be located, will she put up any objections, I wonder?**


	37. Chapter 37

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline and I had been back in Mystic Falls a week; and as I arrived to pick Leo up from school, he hurried over to me and wrapped his arms around me…

"Hey, bud." I greeted him "Everything okay?"

"Mommy's here." he informed me "She wanted me to go with her."

I swallowed a lump in my throat and bent down to his level… "Why don't you head to Daddy's car? It's just over there, can you see it? Watch where you're going as you go across the car park, okay?"

Nodding his head, I watched as he took my keys from me and made his way across the car park, reaching the safety of my car, climbing in and shutting the door behind him…

"Nice of you to show…" Elena scoffed "At least I actually bothered to be here on time."

"I was in a meeting and it ran a few minutes late, unlike you who was here on time because she has nothing to do with her day." I replied "What are you doing here, by the way?"

"I came to see my son." she informed me

"After all this time?" I questioned "I'm surprised he hasn't forgotten about you, given that Caroline and I are moving forward with our plans for her to adopt him."

"Her what?" she asked

"You heard." I informed her "Caroline's planning to adopt Leo, and myself and my Mom and Dad are backing her all the way. There's nothing you can do to stop it."

CAROLINE'S POV:

I stood in the kitchen, waiting for Stefan to answer the phone when he answered, Leo speaking…

"Hi, Mommy…" he greeted me

"Hi, mate," I mirrored "is Daddy driving?"

"No, he's talking to Mommy, well my real Mommy." he replied

"Where are you?" I questioned

"At school," he informed me "I'm sat in his car while he and real Mommy talk."

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Okay, mate. Well could you get Daddy to call me when he comes to the car please?"

"Okay, Mommy," he replied "see you soon. Love you."

"Love you too." I mirrored

STEFAN'S POV:

I smirked as Elena stared at me shell-shocked and turned on my heel to walk away, her hand grabbing my arm as I did so…

"What?" I asked

"You can't do this, Stefan." she replied

"We can and we are." I informed her "If you want to see your son and have a relationship with him, sort your life out, for goodness sake."

Turning again, I walked across the car park, Leo climbing into the back as I did so…

"Right, bud, is your belt on?" I questioned as I climbed into the car

He nodded his head… "Mommy called."

"What did she want?" I asked

"I don't know," he replied "she wants you to ring her."

CAROLINE'S POV:

I'd just finished scrubbing the kitchen sink when my phone started to ring. Seeing it was Stefan's caller ID, I answered it and sighed… "Hey."

"Hey." he mirrored "Leo passed on your message. What's up?"

"Can you pop to the grocery store on your way home?" I asked "I forgot we'd used all the milk this morning; and we need bleach too."

"Are you stress cleaning?" he questioned

"No…" I replied

"Caroline?" he inquired

"Okay, fine, I am." I sighed "Leo said you were talking to Elena."

"I was. And we were only talking, I promise." I informed her "I told her about our plans."

"Right." I replied "And what did she make to that?"

"She's not happy," he admitted "but we'll talk more in private later, okay?"

"Okay." I mirrored "See you soon. Love you."

"Love you too." he replied

STEFAN'S POV:

"What do we need, can you remember?" I asked Leo as we walked around the grocery store

"Milk, bleach, and ice cream and flowers for Mommy." he informed me

"Good lad." I replied "High five!"

Smiling warmly as he smacked his hand against mine, I grabbed a basket and we began to make our way around the store…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Mommy, we're home," Leo shouted into the apartment "and we've got presents for you. Close your eyes!"

Doing as he said, I informed him that my eyes were closed and heard his and Stefan's footsteps make their way through, two things being placed in my outstretched hands…

"You can open your eyes." Leo informed me

I smiled widely as I saw that there was a tub of ice cream sat in one hand, and a bouquet of flowers sat in the other. Setting them down on the side, I hugged Leo tightly and moved over to Stefan as we pulled apart, pressing my lips against his…

"Hi." I greeted him

"Hi." he mirrored

"Yuck!" Leo proclaimed

"Go and get out of your school clothes please, Mr," I replied "and put them in your wash basket with your PE clothes too."

Watching him as he walked out of the room, I wound my arms around Stefan's neck, his coming to rest on my waist… "Are you okay?"

He nodded his head and rested his forehead against mine… "I can't believe she had the audacity to show up at the school though. Leo was freaked."

"I'm not surprised," I replied "maybe it's time we took the next logical step and took her off the emergency contacts list?"

"Is that what you want?" he questioned

I nodded my head… "But it's your decision. Leo's your son."

"And soon enough he'll be yours," he replied "we make these decisions together."

Smiling at him warmly, I pressed my lips against his, pulling away from him quickly as I felt him begin to walk us backwards…

"Later." I whispered against his lips, touching mine to his once more "I promise."

 **Elena showed up at Leo's school – good job Stefan arrived in the nick of time. How do you think Caroline's application to adopt Leo will go?**


	38. Chapter 38

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan and Leo had left for school, and I was just finishing off my coffee and preparing for a day of cleaning when the phone began to ring…

"Hello?" I questioned as I picked up "Martin, hi. No he's not. Can I take a message? Really? That's amazing. Okay, thank you so much. Yeah, we look forward to hearing from you. Bye."

I squealed as I hung up the phone and dialled Stefan's number, biting my thumbnail nervously as I waited for him to answer…

"Hey," he greeted me as he answered my call "miss me already, do you?"

"Hey," I mirrored "and yes I do but that's not why I'm calling. Martin's just been on the phone…"

"And what did he say?" he asked

"Adoption proceedings have been started. In due course we'll have a letter outlining what'll be happening over the next month or two," I informed him "and then if all of that goes well, the official paperwork will be drawn up."

"So in a few months you're gonna be Leo's Mom?" he questioned

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but yeah, maybe." I replied

"That's amazing!" he proclaimed "How about we have takeout tonight?"

"I was thinking we could celebrate and I could cook?" I suggested "We could invite your parents over and tell them our plans?"

"Why don't we just keep it between us now?" he inquired "Until everything's signed and sealed?"

"Do you think something could go wrong?" I asked

"I hope not," he replied "but Elena could put a halt to proceedings or there could be a legality we have to work around. I'm thinking logically, Caroline. Let's just keep it between us for now, yeah?"

"But I wanna shout it from the rooftops…" I admitted

"I know you do," he informed me "and so do I. But it's only a couple of months. And if you want to scream, there's plenty of other ways for you to do so."

"Would any of those reasons include you?" I questioned

"Possibly." he replied "Look, I'm about to head into a meeting and as much as I'd love to stay and continue this chat, I've got to go. I love you and I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"Okay." I mirrored "I love you too."

STEFAN'S POV:

I'd just got out of my first meeting of the day when my phone began to ring again, Leo's school being the caller ID…

"Hello?" I questioned as I answered "Is he okay? Sure, I'll be there as soon as I can. Okay, bye."

Hanging up the phone, I hurried out of the office and to my car, driving across town to Leo's school…

"Daddy!" he proclaimed as I walked into the reception area

"Hey, bud." I greeted him, picking him up as he reached me "Are you okay?"

"Mommy scared me…" he admitted "She was drunk."

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Shall we get you home?"

He nodded his head and rested it on my shoulder as the receptionist handed me his bag. Thanking her, we left and I made my way across the car park to my car…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Stefan?" I questioned as I scrubbed the skirting board in the kitchen

"Hey." he greeted me as he walked into the kitchen, Leo in tow

"Hey," I mirrored "what are you two doing back?"

"Why don't you go and get changed, bud?" Stefan suggested

Leo nodded and made his way out of the room as I rose to my feet and moved over to him… "What's going on?"

"Elena turned up at school and started talking to Leo. She was drunk." he informed me

"Oh God!" I proclaimed "Is he okay?"

"She scared him." he admitted "But that's all he's said. I should cancel my meetings…"

"Don't be silly;" I replied "we'll be fine. We'll snuggle up and watch a film."

"Are you sure?" he questioned

I nodded my head as Leo walked back into the room…

"Right, Mr," I proclaimed, bending down to his level "why don't you say goodbye to Daddy and go and set up Harry Potter for us while I get the popcorn ready?"

"Okay." he replied "Bye, Daddy!"

I smiled warmly as he hurried out of the room… "See? We'll be fine."

Stefan nodded his head and pressed his lips against mine… "See you at 4:30pm."

Nodding my head in agreement, I smiled at him warmly… "Love you."

"Love you too." he mirrored

Hearing the door close, I moved over to the cupboard and reached up to grab a bowl for the popcorn, everything going black…

 **What's happened to Caroline and is she going to be okay? Come back because you've forgotten something, Stefan!**


	39. Chapter 39

STEFAN'S POV:

I'd just reached the car park when my phone began to ring. Looking at the caller ID, I saw it was home and answered as I climbed into the car…

"Hey, Caroline. I'm guessing you want me to…" I began

"Daddy, it's me," Leo proclaimed "you need to come home."

"What's the matter?" I questioned as I climbed out of my car

"Caroline's on the floor and she's not waking up." he informed me "I came through to tell her the TV wasn't working and she was laid on the floor. What do I do, Daddy?"

"I'm just coming inside now," I replied "I need you to call 911 for me, can you do that?"

"Okay." he replied

"Good boy. Everything's going to be alright, I promise." I assured him

As I hurried into the apartment, I heard Leo giving the person on the other end of the phone our address and moved over to Caroline, putting her into the recovery position…

"Stefan…" she whispered

"Hey, it's okay." I informed her

"What happened?" she questioned

"She's awake!" Leo proclaimed

"Hand me the phone, bud," I replied "and just hold Caroline's hand for me, okay?"

Doing as I asked, Leo took Caroline's hand and I rose to my feet… "I'm Caroline's partner. She's conscious but barely. Her breathing's okay but I need someone to get here as soon as they can."

"Someone will be with you very shortly, Sir." the person on the other end of the line informed me "Just keep her talking and listen out for the ambulance."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"When am I going to know what happened?" I asked the nurse who was stood in my room

"The tests should be on their way back to the doctor as we speak." she informed me

I nodded my head in understanding and winced as an intense pain shot through my stomach…

"Are you okay, Miss. Forbes?" the nurse questioned

I nodded my head, clutching my stomach as another pain shot through… "Okay. No."

"Can you describe the pain to me?" she inquired

I opened my mouth to speak and yelled out in pain, clutching onto my stomach…

"I'm going to go and get your doctor. I won't be long." she informed me

STEFAN'S POV:

"What's going on?" I asked as the nurse who'd been in Caroline's room hurried out

"Miss. Forbes is in pain." she informed me

I hurried into the room, thanking God that Mom had been to pick him up and made my way over to Caroline, taking her hand in mine, stroking my fingers through her hair…

"It's okay." I whispered, pressing my lips against her forehead "It's okay."

"It hurts. Something really hurts, Stefan." she informed me as she began to sob

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Stefan asked as I was given some oxygen "My girlfriend's in agony."

"Her collapse triggered premature labour." the doctor admitted

"Premature what?" I questioned "There must be some mistake. I'm not pregnant."

"According to your notes from the tests we've done, Miss. Forbes, you are," he informed me "and the baby's coming now, whether you like it or not."

"There must've been a mix up with the notes," I proclaimed "I would know if I was pregnant."

"It's quite common for a woman to not know she's pregnant," the doctor explained "now we need to prepare you for labour. Would you like your partner to be in the room?"

I glanced at Stefan and nodded my head… "Only if you want to be?"

"I want to be." he informed me

Smiling at him warmly, he took his hand in mine and I breathed as another pain shot through me…

STEFAN'S POV:

I watched in awe of Caroline as she gave birth to our child, my heart bursting with pride as our little girl was placed into her arms, Caroline pulling her top down for skin-to-skin contact…

"Can you believe it?" she asked, snapping me from my trance

I shook my head as I stroked my hand over our little girl's head… "You had no idea?"

"None." she replied "It's crazy!"

"A good crazy." I informed her, pressing my lips against her temple

"We've got nothing for her!" she proclaimed "Stefan, you need to head to the mall before the stores close. We need clothes, bottles, a pushchair, a Moses basket, a cot. God, we need everything!"

"Just take it easy, will you?" I inquired "You've just given birth."

"How am I meant to take it easy?" she asked "We're so unprepared."

"Because we didn't know it was happening," I informed her "so I think we can be given a break in this case, but if you want, you can spend some more time with our little girl while I go and track down a pen and paper for you to make a list of what we need, how about that?"

She exhaled a breath and nodded her head… "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I replied, kissing hers and our little girl's forehead before leaving the room

 **Were you expecting any of that at all? Stefan and Caroline are parents, and Leo's a big brother…**


	40. Chapter 40

CAROLINE'S POV:

After Stefan had made sure that our little girl had been thoroughly checked, she and I were discharged. Making my way out of the bathroom of my private room, I walked over to the bed to see Stefan dressing her, pursing my lips together as I rested my head against his shoulder…

"What?" he questioned

"I didn't say anything…" I proclaimed

"You didn't have to." he replied "What is it?"

"That top, with those trousers?" I questioned "Really?"

"Does it matter?" he inquired "She'll throw up all over them in an hour or so."

"I still want her to look nice," I informed him "especially when we have to go shopping."

"I got everything we need." he assured me

"I highly doubt that." I admitted, smiling at me warmly

"Your lack of faith in me hurts, Caroline." he informed me

"I'm sorry," I replied, winding my arms around his neck as he turned to face me "but I'm sure there's something you've forgotten to get."

"I took your list with me and got everything. I ticked it all off, so you can cross-check when you get home." he admitted

"Seriously?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him

He nodded his head… "And I've left the important decisions up to you."

"Such as?" I inquired

"The cot, the bedding for the cot, nursery colours, that sort of thing." he informed me

I smiled at him warmly as I pressed my lips against his, pulling away from him as she began to whimper…

"We need to name her…" I sighed, taking her into my arms "We can't just call her baby girl Salvatore forever."

"Why not?" he questioned "It's got a nice ring to it…"

"She needs a name!" I informed him "What do you want to be called, hmm?"

"Marry me…" Stefan spoke as I cooed over her

"What?" I questioned, turning to him in shock

"Marry me." he mirrored "Be my wife."

"Is that your way of asking me to marry you?" I inquired "Your serious way of asking?"

"I'll take that as a no then?" he questioned

I nodded my head… "I want to marry you, but I also want to be asked properly. A girl wants the romance of being proposed to, Stefan."

"Prepare to be swept off your feet then, Caroline." he replied

I smiled at him warmly as he took our little girl from me and put her into her car seat and strapped her in. Collecting the last of our things together, I zipped up the bag Stefan had brought in for us and took his outstretched hand as he held the car seat and escorted me from the room…

STEFAN'S POV:

"Hey, bud," I greeted Leo as he hurried through to the hallway as Caroline and I made our way into the apartment "have you been good?"

"He's been good as gold." Mom informed me "let's have a look at her then. My granddaughter…"

I set the car seat down and took our little girl from it, handing her to Mom, wrapping my arm around Caroline's waist as Mom started to coo over her…

"She's beautiful." she sighed, her head lifting to look at us both

"I'm gonna go and take a shower," Caroline informed me "is that okay?"

"Take as long as you need." I replied "We'll be fine."

Smiling at me warmly, she made her way down the hallway and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her…

"I'm so glad you only had Leo with Elena…" Mom admitted "Given how things have turned out."

"What's that meant to mean?" I questioned

"I didn't mean anything by it." she replied "Why don't you go and have a lie down? You must be exhausted…"

"Not until you tell me what you meant by that comment." I admitted

CAROLINE'S POV:

"That's better." I sighed as I made my way into the lounge, seeing Stefan sat on the sofa, a beer in hand "Has your Mom gone?"

He nodded his head… "Did you know Elena miscarried my child?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "When did she tell you?"

"She didn't. My Mom did. You knew?" he questioned

I nodded my head and pursed my lips together… "She told me when I miscarried."

"You've known all that time and you didn't think to tell me?" he inquired "Why?"

"It wasn't my place to tell you and break your heart," I informed him "not after what we'd been through. I couldn't do it."

"Why didn't you get Elena to tell me?" he asked

"I begged her to. I told her you had the right to know but she said it was so long ago that it was best forgotten." I replied "I wanted to tell you, Stefan, so badly, and I'm sorry I didn't."

"It doesn't even matter." he admitted, sighing heavily as I spoke "I don't even know why I'm upset."

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and rested my forehead against the side of his head… "You're upset because you're grieving for a child you never knew you had. It's okay. Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head… "I want to focus on you, me, Leo and our little girl. Our family. Our little family of four."

"Our little family of four sounds perfect," I informed him "As long as you're sure?"

He nodded his head… "And I've thought of a name too."

"Have you?" I questioned

"What do you think to Zoe?" I inquired

"Zoe…" I replied "Zoe Salvatore. I like it."

 **What do you think to the name Stefan and Caroline have picked for their little girl? Welcome to the fanfiction world, Zoe Salvatore…**


	41. Chapter 41

CAROLINE'S POV:

I turned over in bed that night and reached for Stefan, opening one eye as my hand hit the bare mattress where his body should've been laid. Easing myself up, I climbed from the bed and was about to make my way out of our bedroom when Zoe began to whimper. Moving back over to her Moses basket, I picked her up and cradled her against my chest, making my way out of our room and down the hallway and into the kitchen, flicking on the light to see Stefan had been sat in the dark at the table, a bottle of Bourbon sat on the table, a half-filled glass in his hand. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I moved over to him and took it from him, handing Zoe to him before grabbing the bottle too, setting them both on the draining board and sitting down next to him…

"Look at her…" I begged

Doing as I asked, his head fell down to where our daughter was cradled in his arms and I leaned forward to wrap my hand around his neck…

"I love you." I informed him "And I need you to be strong for her. For Leo. For me. For us."

He looked up at me and smiled at me, his eyes full of tears as he did so. Wiping a stray one as it fell, I pressed my lips against his…

"I love you too." he breathed against my mouth before we pulled apart

"I'll get Zoe's bottle sorted," I informed him "why don't you take her back to bed?"

He nodded his head and rose to his feet, kissing me once again before leaving the room. Rising to my feet, I tipped the glass of amber liquid down the sink and did the same with the bottle too, rinsing the glass out and leaving it on the drainer to dry, putting the bottle in recycling and proceeding to organise Zoe's bottle…

STEFAN'S POV:

"About last night…" I began as Caroline and I organised ourselves the next morning

"Forget about it." she begged "There's no point worrying about the past when we've got our present and future to think about. It's okay, honestly."

"You shouldn't have had to see me like that." I admitted

"I'm glad I did," she informed me "because it shows me you're a normal human being. You have feelings that have been hurt, and you broke for a time. But now, all I need is for you to be strong for our family, can you do that for me?"

I nodded my head… "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"Why don't you show me?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at me

"That'd require the house to ourselves," I informed her "something we're not going to have for the next 18 years."

She smiled at me warmly… "Like you'd change it for the world."

Reciprocating her smile, I pressed my lips against hers softly… "I love you."

"I love you too." I mirrored

CAROLINE'S POV:

I'd just fed and changed Zoe as the buzzer to the apartment started to ring. Cradling her in my arms, I picked up the phone… "Hello?"

"Hello, sexy Momma!" Rebekah's voice proclaimed "Can I come up and see my niece?"

I smiled and buzzed her into the building, opening the door for her…

"Hi…" I greeted her as she made her way in, shutting the door behind her

"Hi," she mirrored "I have all the new Mom supplies you could ever need here with me."

"So I see," I replied, making my way through to the living room, settling Zoe in her Moses basket "what have we got?"

"Coffee, obviously," she informed me "chocolate croissants because they're essential! A photo album for you to put pictures of your beautiful family in, a yummy Mommy keyring, because let's face it, you're hot, and a supply of chocolate for you."

"Thank you." I proclaimed, reaching forward to hug her "This is amazing, Bek!"

"You're welcome." she replied "God, I can't believe you're a Mom."

"Neither can I." I admitted "It's all so surreal."

"And you had no idea you were pregnant?" she questioned

I shook my head… "None at all."

"Wow," she proclaimed "right, I'm gonna put a pot of coffee on, and then I want cuddles with my gorgeous niece."

"Before you go, there's something I want to ask you…" I informed her

"What?" she questioned

"What would you say if I asked you to be Zoe's godmother?" I asked

"Seriously?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at me

I nodded my head, laughing loudly as she threw herself into my arms and hugged me tightly…

"I'd be honored." she admitted

STEFAN'S POV:

"Hi, Daddy!" Leo proclaimed as he made his way over to me as I stood waiting for him in the playground as he finished school that afternoon

"Hi, bud," I mirrored "how was your day?"

"Good." he replied "I missed Mommy and Zoe though. Are they okay?"

"They're fine," I informed him "now, I've got a very important task that I need your assistance with – will you help me?"

He nodded his head… "What is it, Daddy?"

"We need to go and pick something for Mommy," I replied "it's something very special so that Daddy can show her how much he loves her."

 **What do you think Stefan could be picking/choosing for Caroline?**


	42. Chapter 42

STEFAN'S POV:

"I like that one." Leo informed me, pointing to a ring in the display window

"I do too." I replied "Do you think Caroline would like it?"

"I think she'd like anything you picked." he admitted

Ruffling his hair, I called a sales assistant over…

"Whoever this is for, she's one lucky lady." the assistant proclaimed as she boxed and wrapped it for me

"She's amazing." I informed her "She's worth every penny."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"There you two are…" I proclaimed as Stefan and Leo walked into the apartment just after I'd put Zoe down "Where've you been? You've not been for food, have you? Because I've got a Shepherd's pie in the oven…"

"We've been shopping." Leo informed me

"And you didn't buy anything?" I questioned

"Daddy bought something." he admitted

"Did you now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Stefan as I turned to him "What did you buy?"

"Something you'll love," he informed me "but big mouth here can't keep it closed, but you'll find out."

"When?" I inquired

"All in due course." he replied

STEFAN'S POV:

"Stefan, have we got any band-aids?" Caroline asked from the bedroom as I stood in our en-suite

"Yeah, in my nightstand drawer." I informed her

CAROLINE'S POV:

I moved over to where Stefan had told me there were some band-aids and opened his drawer, swallowing a lump in my throat as I saw a ring box sat in the corner. Picking it up, I turned my head as I heard Stefan's footsteps…

"Is this what I think it is?" I questioned

"What do you think it is?" he asked

"Have you been shopping for a ring?" I inquired

He smiled and moved over to me, taking the box from me and opening it, my hands coming up to my mouth…

"Stefan, it's beautiful!" I proclaimed

He took the ring from the box and I watched as he got down on one knee and took my hand in his… "After Elena, I didn't think I was going to be allowed to be happy again, but then I met you and that all changed – I know it's cliché to say but you've made me the happiest I've been in a long time, and you've given me a beautiful daughter and you've become a Mom to my son and I love you, more than words can ever say. Caroline Forbes, will you marry me?"

The tears began to prick my eyes as I nodded my head… "Yes!"

Sliding the ring onto my finger, he rose to his feet and pressed his lips against mine again and again, a laugh escaping my lips as he pulled away and wrapped his arms around me tightly…

 **Congratulations, Stefan and Caroline!**


	43. Chapter 43

STEFAN'S POV:

It had been two days since Caroline and I had gotten engaged, and as I walked into the apartment from work that evening, I made my way through to the kitchen, finding wedding magazines scattered all over the table…

"Hey," Caroline greeted me, pressing her lips to the skin of my neck as she wrapped her arms around my waist from behind "I thought I heard you. How was your day?"

"Hey." I mirrored "It was good. Caroline, what's all this?"

"What does it look like?" she questioned

"I thought we were having something simple and quiet?" I inquired

"We are." she informed me "But a girl has to look good on her big day, and I want everything to be just perfect. I know it seems like a lot, but I'm not going to go overboard, I promise."

"What would you say if I suggested we eloped?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her

"No!" she proclaimed "Your Mom would never forgive us and neither would mine. Oh my God!"

"What?" I questioned

"I haven't let my Mom or Dad know we're engaged, or that we've had Zoe. I've been so wrapped up in our new baby and engagement bubble, I completely forgot!" she admitted

"Can't you phone them now?" I inquired "Why don't you suggest they come down for the weekend? That way we can tell them face-to-face and I can meet them properly."

"You'd be okay with that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me

I nodded my head… "Gotta meet the parents sometime, haven't I?"

CAROLINE'S POV:

"So, what did they say?" Stefan questioned as I walked through to the lounge

"They're coming down this weekend." I informed him "Which means I have 5 days to plan the perfect trip for them. Everything has to go swimmingly, Stefan."

"Why are you so worked up about them coming to visit?" he asked

"Dad and I have always had a great relationship, but Mom, she's very judgemental." I replied "Over things I do, over choices I make, and I know it's just because she wants what's best for me, but I'm a grown woman now. I'm a mother; I want her to be proud."

"And she will be." he assured me, entwining his hand in mine "How could she not be? We've got a roof over our heads, money coming in, we've both got jobs and we have two great kids."

"Born out of wedlock…" I sighed "Which will not go down well."

"It's the 20th century, Caroline. Plenty of people are having babies out of wedlock." he informed me "Zoe's her first grandchild. She'll dote on her!"

"And Leo?" I questioned

"I'm sure she'll love him too." he replied "But for now, why don't we just sit back and watch a film now the kids are in bed?"

"Wishful thinking…" I chuckled as Zoe began to cry "I'll go see to her and you pick us a film, okay?"

 **Caroline's parents are coming to visit – and she's worried about what her Mum will think. What do you think she'll think?**


	44. Chapter 44

STEFAN'S POV:

"Are Caroline's Mommy and Daddy my Grandma and Grandad, like your Mommy and Daddy?" Leo asked as I got him dressed into the outfit Caroline had laid out on his bed for him

"They will be once Caroline and I are married, mate." I replied

"What if they don't like me? What if they like Zoe more?" he questioned

"Not gonna happen." I informed him "You thought that was going to be the case when Zoe was born, that Caroline and I would love her more than we love you, but we proved you wrong, didn't we? We love you both just the same, as do your Grandma and Grandad, and as will Caroline's Mom and Dad."

"Hey, are you two almost ready?" Caroline inquired as she poked her head around the door "Mom's just called. They'll be here in about 20 minutes."

"We're about done." I replied, rising to my feet "Calm down…"

"I am calm." she informed me

"You expect me to believe that?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at her

"Yes, because I am." she replied

"Like hell you are…" I proclaimed

"Daddy, you swore!" Leo informed me "$1 in the swear jar."

"What?" I asked

"Leo heard the idea at school," Caroline explained "and thought it'd be a good idea to implement it at home, and I agree too."

"Oh you do, do you?" I questioned

She nodded her head… "Now can you just give the place a once-over? I need to wake Zoe from her nap."

CAROLINE'S POV:

The intercom to the apartment rang and I made my way through to the hallway to answer it… "Hello?"

"Hi, love; it's me and your mother." Dad informed me

"Come up. You'll need floor 2 in the elevator." I replied

Opening the door as I buzzed them into the building, Stefan and Leo walked out into the hallway from the kitchen, Stefan holding Zoe in his arms…

"Everything sorted?" I asked

He nodded his head… "Everything's gonna be fine, I know it."

"I hope so." I replied

"Pumpkin!" Dad's voice proclaimed as Stefan was about to reply

"Hi, Dad." I greeted him, turning to hug him "I missed you."

"And we missed you, didn't we, Liz?" Dad asked as Mom looked around the apartment as she stepped inside

"Yes we did." she replied "It's a nice place you've got here…"

"Thanks. I think so too." Stefan admitted "It's nice to meet you both. I'm Stefan, your daughter's fiancé, and this is my son, Leo."

"It's nice to meet you, Leo." Dad greeted him, holding out his hand for him to shake "What a strapping young man!"

"Leo, why don't you go and show my Dad your model train collection?" I suggested

"Would you like to see it?" Leo inquired

Dad nodded his head and Leo smiled widely, leading Dad down the hallway to his bedroom. Taking Zoe from Stefan, I turned to Mom…

"Do you want to hold your granddaughter, Mom?" I questioned

She pursed her lips together and smiled at me warmly before nodding her head…

"I'll go and put the kettle on." Stefan informed us "Liz, tea or coffee?"

"Coffee please," she replied "fighting the tiredness that has overcome Caroline's father and I. He'll want one too please, Stefan."

Watching as Stefan walked into the kitchen, I turned to Mom… "Now we're alone, why don't you tell me what you're really thinking?"

"This isn't a place to raise children," she admitted "you need a house. With a garden."

"We're looking into it." I informed her "We're saving."

"How are you saving when you've given up work and there's only one wage coming in?" she questioned

"We're managing to put something aside each month." I replied "We're lucky Stefan's got an extremely well paid job."

"What exactly does he do for a living?" she asked "It's not as if we know much about him…"

"He's a financier." I informed her "Yes the hours are long and tiresome but he manages to get off early most days. We get our time together."

"You and him together or as a family?" she questioned

"Both." I replied "We make sure to set aside a night a week after the kids have gone to bed to snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie. We're all good."

"And you're happy?" she inquired

I nodded my head… "Blissfully."

 **Well hello to Mr and Mrs. Forbes – what drama can we expect from their weekend visit? Any? Or a lot? Who knows…?**


	45. Chapter 45

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan, myself, Leo and my Mom and Dad were just about to sit down for dinner when a knock at the door sounded. Glancing at Stefan, he smiled at me reassuringly and made his way through to the hallway to get it, brushing my shoulder as he moved past me…

STEFAN'S POV:

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I opened the door to Elena. Pushing her out into the corridor, I shut the door to behind me…

"Hi." she greeted me

"What are you doing here?" I questioned "How did you get into the building?"

"I knew you probably wouldn't let me in if I buzzed, so I buzzed the lovely Mrs. Jefferies downstairs and she let me in." she informed me

"Right." I replied "Well you can't be here."

"I want to see my son, Stefan," she admitted "I need to say goodbye to him."

"Goodbye?" I inquired

"I'm moving to New York." she informed me "I've landed a job with a great media company and I'm not going to be around everyday, obviously, so you and Caroline have gotten what you wanted, but what I do ask is that I'm able to see him on birthdays and at Christmas."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"I'm gonna go and see where Stefan's got to." I informed Mom, Dad and Leo as I rose to my feet

"Tell him to hurry," Mom replied "I won't let the dinner you and I cooked go to waste."

Smiling at her, I left the room and made my way out into the hallway… "Stefan?"

STEFAN'S POV:

"Hey." I greeted Caroline as I pushed the front door open "What are you doing?"

"I came to find you." she informed me "Your dinner's getting cold. Are you coming back through?"

"In a minute." I replied "Elena and I are just…"

"Elena?" she questioned, moving to the doorway "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Caroline." she greeted her "Pleasant as always."

"How do you expect me to be with you given everything you've done to my fiancé and son?" Caroline inquired

"God, you move fast don't you?" Elena questioned "Congratulations, I guess."

"Thanks." I replied "I'll be in touch regarding what you've asked, but don't be surprised if the answer's a no. Leo doesn't know you."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"What did Elena ask you?" I asked as we made our way back into the apartment

"What?" he questioned

"You said you'd be in touch regarding what she asked. What did she ask?" I inquired

"She wants to see Leo on birthdays and at Christmas." he informed me "She's moving to New York."

"What?" I questioned "How did she manage to land an opportunity like that?"

"I have no idea." he admitted "But she's leaving, and yes she still wants contact with her son but at least we won't be looking over our shoulders everyday now."

"Yeah, I suppose…" I replied "Do we tell Leo?"

"Do you want to?" he inquired

"I think we need to. Like you said, he barely knows her." I informed him "But we need to give him the choice. If he doesn't want to see her, at least we know what we can say to her."

He nodded his head in agreement… "Shall we get back to dinner?"

I nodded my head and smiled at him warmly…

 **Elena showed up, and told Stefan that she's moving to New York and wants to see Leo on birthdays and at Christmas, and he and Caroline have decided to ask Leo what he wants – what do you think he'll decide? And how do you think the rest of the trip will go?**


	46. Chapter 46

CAROLINE'S POV:

"You and Dad don't have to do this, Mom," I admitted as she and Dad began to clean up the kitchen after dinner "you're mine and Stefan's guests…"

"Maybe so," she replied "but you two deserve some quality time with your children, and when we're done here we'll head back to our hotel."

"You don't have to…" I informed her

"I know we don't, but your father's exhausted from the drive and if you and I are taking your new little bundle out shopping tomorrow, I need all the sleep I can get," she admitted "I know what you're like once you get to a shopping mall."

"Okay." I replied "Thank you."

STEFAN'S POV:

"You ready?" Caroline asked as she walked into the lounge

"Are you sure your Mom and Dad are okay cleaning up?" I questioned

"Stop trying to get out of it!" she proclaimed "They're fine. I've checked and double checked. Now come on; let's go and speak to him…"

"Okay." I replied, rising to my feet and following her out of the room

"Leo, can we come in?" Caroline questioned as she poked her head around the door

She pushed the door open as he said yes and we stepped inside, and I shut the door behind me. Sitting down on his bed next to her, she entwined her hand with mine…

"Can you stop what you're doing for a minute, mate?" I asked

"What's wrong, Daddy?" he inquired

"You know Daddy went to answer the door at dinner?" I questioned "Well your Mommy was the person I was talking to, and she told me that she's not going to be around much anymore, but would still like to see you on your birthdays and at Christmas, and I told her I'd ask you if that was what you wanted too. Would it?"

"I'd like to," he admitted "but only if Mommy Caroline's okay with it…"

"Why wouldn't I be, bud?" she inquired

"You're my Mommy too, and I don't want to make you sad." he informed me

"It won't make me sad." she assured him "But I'm very happy that you're such a kind and loving little boy."

He smiled at her warmly and moved over to us, taking a seat on her lap…

"So you'd like to see your Mommy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him

He nodded his head… "When she has the time."

"Okay." I replied "I'll let her know."

CAROLINE'S POV:

I checked on Zoe after Stefan, Leo and I had said goodbye to my Mom and Dad and left our bedroom, shutting the door to behind me. Making my way into the lounge where Stefan and Leo were sat, I sat down on the couch next to Stefan and rested my head on his shoulder…

"You okay?" he asked

"I'm great." I informed him, turning my head to press my lips against the skin of his neck

 **The end – I know some of you probably think there could've been more to this story and yes, maybe there could've but I thought and felt like this was a good place to end it. I hope you enjoyed…**


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